m^u 


'<^J^\ 


JOHNA.SEAVERNS 


BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR. 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  CHANCELLORSVILLE.  With  Maps.  8vo, 
$3.00. 

It  is  not  easy  to  say  which  part  of  this  book  is  best,  for  it  is  all 
good.  —  The  New  York  Nation. 

A  BIRD'S  EYE  VIEW  OF  OUR  CIVIL  WAR.  With  Maps  and 
Illustrations.     8vo,  $3.00. 

A  clearer,  more  vivid  view,  a  more  accurate  outline,  than  any 
•other  available  record.  —  Lotidon  Saturday  Review. 

PATROCLUS  AND  PENELOPE:  A  Chat  in  the  Saddle.    With 
Phototypes.      8vo,  $3.00.      Popular    Edition.      With  woodcuts 
from  instantaneous  photographs.     Crown  8vo,  $1.25. 
The  spirit  of  a  sportsman  pervades  it  throughout.  —  London  Field, 

GREAT  CAPTAINS.     With  Maps  and  Charts.    8vo,  $2.00. 
The  conciseness  and  sharpness  of  these  pictures  make  them  very 
efiective.  —  New  York  Tribune. 

ALEXANDER.  A  History  of  the  Origin  and  Growth  of  the  Art  of 
War,  from  the  Earliest  Times  to  the  Battle  of  Ipsus,  B.C.  301 ; 
with  a  detailed  account  of  the  Campaigns  of  the  Great  Macedonian. 
With  237  Charts,  Maps,  Plans  of  Battles,  and  Tactical  MancEuvres, 
Cuts  of  Armor,  Uniforms,  Siege  Devices,  and  Portraits.  8vo, 
two  volumes  in  one,  $5.00. 
A  series  of  chapters  full  of  instruction. —  Tlie  AttuiicEum(Lo7idon). 

H  AN  N I BAL.  A  History  of  the  Art  of  War  among  the  Carthaginians 
and  Romans,  down  to  the  Battle  of  Pydna,  168  B.C. ;  with  a 
detailed  account  of  the  Second  Punic  War.  With  227  Charts, 
Maps,  Plans  of  Battles,  and  Tactical  Manoeuvres,  Cuts  of  Armor, 
Weapons,  and  Uniforms.  8vo,  two  volumes  in  one,  $5.00. 
Aside  from  its  value  as  a  military  study.  Colonel  Dodge's  book  is 
most  interesting.  — Journal  of  the  Jililitary  Service  Institution. 

C>ESAR.  A  History  of  the  Art  of  War  among  the  Romans,  from 
the  Second  Punic  War  down  to  the  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
with  a  detailed  account  of  the  Gallic  and  Civil  Wars.  With  275 
Charts,  Maps,  Plans  of  Battles,  and  Tactical  Manoeuvres,  and 
other  Cuts.     8vo,  two  volumes  in  one,  $5.00. 

His  lucid  style  and  easy  mastery  of  his  material  afford  an  explana- 
tion of  the  peculiar  interest  that  attaches  to  his  volumes.  —  New 
York  Times. 

GUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS.  A  History  of  the  Art  of  War  from  its 
revival  after  the  Middle  Ages  to  the  end  of  the  Spanish  Suc- 
cession War,  with  a  detailed  account  of  the  campaigns  of  the 
Great  Swede,  and  the  most  famous  campaigns  of  Turenne,  Conde, 
Eugene,  and  Marlborougli.  With  234  Charts,  Maps,  Plans  of 
Battles  and  Tactical  Manoeuvres,  and  Cuts  of  Uniforms  and 
Weapons.  8vo,  two  volumes  in  one,  $5.00. 
Every  one  interested  in  the  study  of  the  Art  of  War  is  beholden 
to  Colonel  Dodge  for  the  work  that  he  is  doing.  —  A  merican  His- 
torical Review. 

In  preparation,  uniform  in  style  with  the  above  volumes: 

FREDERICK  THE   GREAT.  NAPOLEON. 

The  seriee  of  six  volumes  (Alexander  to  Napoleon)  will  cover  the  His- 
tory of  the  Art  of  War  from  the  earliest  times  rtuwn  to  1815. 

RIDERS  OF  MANY   LANDS.     Profusely  illustrated  by  Remington, 
and  from  photographs  of  Oriental  subjects.     8vo,  $4.00. 
A  book  that  will  gladden  the  heart  of  every  lover  of  horses.  — 
Boston  Herald. 

POST-  PRANDIALS.  Occasional  verses  read  to  the  Papyrus  Club. 
8vo,  privately  printed. 

ARMY  AND  OTHER  TALES.  Magazine  articles,  and  extracts  from 
a  diary  kept  during  the  Civil  War.     8vo,  privately  printed. 

ADDRESSES  AND  REVIEVVS.  From  the  Forum  and  other  Re- 
views, or  delivered  on  various  occasions.    8vo,  privately  printed. 

RIDING,  DRIVING,  FENCING.  Reprinted  from  various  sources. 
8vo,  privately  printed. 

FIFTY  YEARS  OF  HARD  AND  HAPPY  WORK.  An  autobio- 
graphical  sketch.    8vo,  privately  printed. 


RIDING,    DRIVING, 
FENCING 


FOR   YOUNG   PEOPLE 


L()N(i-D18TAN(]E  RIDIN(^,  ETC. 


BY 

T.     A.     D. 


Mitb  miustrations 


PRIVATELY    PRINTED 

HENRY   S.   DUNN, 

BOSTON,    MASS. 

1898. 


TO     MY     WIFK, 

AT     WHOSE     SUGGESTION 

AND    FOR    WHOSE    KNTERTAINMKN'l' 

THESE    PAGES    WERE    GATHERED. 


CONTENTS. 


In  the  Saddle 9 

Driving 59 

The  Horse's   Motions  as  Revealed  by  Pho- 
tography         93 

The  Riding  Club 103 

The  Himalaya  Pony  and  Hawaiian  Rideus  113 

LONG-DlSTANCE   RiDING 123 

Fencing         . 141 


IN  THE  SADDLE. 


IN  THE  SADDLE.^ 


I. 


T"  CANNOT  remember  the  time  when  I  was  first  put 
upon  a  liorse.  At  six  or  seven  years  old,  when 
riding  became  an  every-day  duty,  I  was  already 
familiar  with  what  a  big  horse  felt  like  between  my 
tiny  legs.  I  lived  with  my  grandfather,  a  clergyman, 
near  Lake  Winnipiseogee.  Twice  a  day  the  mail  had 
to  be  fetched  from  the  post-office,  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  parsonage.  Old  Prudence  was  a  Morgan 
mare,  worthy  her  name  when  between  the  thills  of  the 
old-fashioned  shay,  but  keenly  conscious  of  her  pedi- 
gree if  you  but  showed  her  the  veriest  tip  of  a  birch 
twig.  She  knew  her  duty  well  when  the  venerable 
pastor  gathered  up  the  reins  and  spoke  to  her  in  his 

*  Published  in  Harper's  Young  People,  1886,  and  reprinted  by  permission 
of  Messrs.  Hai-per  &  Brothers. 


12  RIDING,    DKIVING,    FENCING. 

gentle  voice.  But  I  fancy  slie  relished  not  less  the 
companionship  of  his  livelier  grandson.  I  used  to  climb 
into  the  manger  and  sit  and  fondle  her,  and  tell  her 
my  dearest  secrets  by  the  hour  together ;  and  many's 
the  apple  Prue  and  I  went  halves  in.  I  quite  believed 
that  she  could  climb  the  apple-tree  I  often  reached  by 
standing  on  her  back,  if  she  but  tried ;  it  is  certain  that 
she  would  rear  up  to  reach  the  coveted  fruit  I  held 
down  from  above,  sometimes  till  she  stood  all  but 
perpendicular.  She  would  follow  me  anywhere,  and 
I  used  to  wake  up  in  the  night  and  wish  I  could 
cuddle  up  to  Prue.  For  the  dear  old  mare  had  com- 
forted me  many  a  time  and  oft,  and  floods  of  my  salt 
tears  have  trickled  down  her  nose  when  I  sought  relief 
from  boyish  tribulations  by  laying  my  cheek  against 
her  broad  and  kindly  face. 

From  the  manger  it  was,  too,  that  I  always  took  off 
her  halter  and  bridled  her;  then  she  would  follow  me 
out  to  the  wood-shed,  where  a  convenient  girder  ena. 
bled  me  to  mount.  Upward  from  the  parsonage  ran 
the  pretty  road  a  little  stretch ;  then  the  brow  of  the 
hill  concealed  us.  Prue  knew  that  till  then  she  must 
be  sedate,  lest  the  master's  eye  should  see  her  uncler- 
ical  pranks.     But  no  sooner  there  than  she  forgot  her 


IN   THE    SADDLE.  13 

years,  if  she  was  really  old — as  I  doubt — and  a  lively 
enough  scamper  we  had  of  it  till  within  sight  of  the 
rambling  village  store,  whose  owner  was  everything 
from  postmaster  to  justice  of  the  peace.  I  have  al- 
ways believed  that  my  secure  seat  is  traceable  to  old 
Prudence's  bareback  lessons.  Other  instructors  than 
horses — and  horse  books — I  have  never  had. 

In  the  South  boys  learn  to  ride,  and  girls  too,  bare- 
back and  without  even  a  bridle.  A  mere  stick  to  guide 
the  horse  with,  and  equilibrium  often  as  clever  as  a 
rope-dancer's,  suffice.  Most  Southern  boys  and  girls 
would  laugh  at  the  idea  of  learning  how  to  ride.  They 
never  know  how  or  when  they  learn.  It  is  part  of 
their  lives. 

The  first  advice  an  old  horseman  can  give  you  boys 
is  to  learn  bareback.  The  best  as  well  as  the  most 
artistic  seat  on  a  horse  in  the  world  is  shown  in  the 
procession  on  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon,  sculptured 
more  than  two  thousand  years  ago,  when  every  man 
rode  bareback. 

An  old  English  huntsman's  advice  to  his  young 
master,  just  taking  his  first  lesson  in  fox-hunting,  con- 
denses into  its  blunt  phrases  all  the  science  of  riding. 
"'Ands  and  'eels  low,  'ead  and  'eart  'igh.  Master  Fred, 


14  BIDING,   DRIVING,   FENCING. 

and  you'll  soon  ride  like  t'  old  squire,  rest  his  soul!" 
Now  if  you  have  ever  ridden  bareback,  you  will  remem- 
ber that  though  at  first  you  may  want  to  clasp  your 
horse  with  your  heels,  you  soon  find  out  that  comfort 
and  safety  make  you  settle  down  in  a  sort  of  loose 
way,  and  let  the  leg  below  the  knee  hang  naturally, 
and  that  if  your  horse  shies  or  jumps,  you  grip  him, 
not  with  the  heels,  but  with  the  knee  and  the  upper 
part  of  the  calf;  to  do  which  best  you  have  to  get 
your  heels  well  down.  And  this  is  not  because  you 
have  stirrups  to  keep  your  feet  in  place,  but  because  it 
is  the  natural  way  to  get  a  stout  hold.  This  bareback 
seat  is  the  one  for  you  to  learn  and  stick  to.  The  less 
you  forget  of  it  when  you  get  into  the  saddle,  the 
better  rider  you  will  be.  This  is  the  old  huntsman's 
"'eels  low." 

When  you  feel  entirely  at  home  on  your  bareback 
mount,  you  should  use  a  doubled  up  blanket  and  sur- 
cingle for  a  few  weeks,  and  later  on  a  saddle  icith  the 
stirrups  taken  out.  You  will  think  that  it  is  a  mighty 
slippery  business  at  first,  this  sitting  on  a  pig-skin 
saddle,  but  after  a  day  or  two  it  will  grow  to  be  natu- 
ral enough.  Don't  put  in  your  stirrups  too  soon — not 
until  you  can  ride  at  every  gait,  and  rise  to  a  trot  with 


IN    THE    SADDLE.  15 

perfect  comfort,  without  them.  It  is  better  to  sit 
down  to  your  trot  for  many  weeks  before  you  begin  to 
rise  to  it.  It  settles  you  into  your  seat,  i.  e.,  gets  you 
close  to  the  horse.  When  you  put  your  stirrups  in, 
let  them  be  long  enough  not  to  alter  this  seat,  with 
heels  well  down  and  the  ball  of  the  foot  in  the  iron. 
Sit  in  the  middle  of  your  saddle.  Only  a  steeple- 
chaser needs  a  very  long  seat. 

I  always  like  to  see  a  boy  in  the  saddle  without 
leathers.  I  can  see  a  capital  horseman  growing.  For 
his  position  is  natural  and  unconstrained,  and  not  stiff, 
like  the  young  swell  who  thinks  he  needs  no  such 
teaching.  A  boy  may  learn  to  ride  by  beginning  with 
a  full  rig,  and  he  may  not.  But  I  never  knew  a  brave 
boy  who  did  not  make  a  good  horseman  if  he  learned 
my  way.  Besides,  this  is  the  one  way  to  learn  to  hold 
on  only  by  the  thighs  and  knees.  There  is  nothing  so 
unhorsemanlike  as  to  hold  on  by  the  lower  part  of  the 
leg,  and  show  daylight  under  the  knees.  Remember 
this.  "  'Eels  low,"  then,  means  an  easy,  secure  seat 
close  to  the  horse.  This  should  never  be  altered,  ex- 
cept in  rising  to  a  trot. 

Now  as  to  the  "  'ands  low."  To  stick  to  a  horse  is 
only  half  the  battle.     You  must  make  the  horse  sub- 


16  RIDING,    DRIVING,   FENCING. 

ject  to  your  will.  The  first  rule  in  doing  this  is 
patience.  Never  lose  your  temper  with  a  horse ;  or  if 
you  lose  it,  never  let  him  know  it.  The  next  rule  is 
patience.  Be  sure  your  horse  understands  what  you 
want  before  you  expect  him  to  do  it.  The  third  rule 
is  patience.  If  3'our  horse  is  awkward  or  blunders, 
don't  scold;  try  again.  Strong  and  nervous  as  a  horse 
is,  he  is  one  of  the  most  affectionate  of  animals.  Gain 
his  affection,  and  he  will  do  anything  and  everything 
you  want  him  to  do.  He  must  get  a  clear  idea  of 
what  you  want,  but  when  he  does  get  it,  he  will  do  it 
always  and  at  once,  and  will  take  pleasure  and  pride 
in  doing  it.  But  you  might  as  well  try  to  mop  back 
the  Atlantic  as  to  force  him.  The  tricks  many  horses 
have  almost  always  come  from  loss  of  patience  and 
attempts  at  force. 

Of  course  I  cannot  tell  you  much  of  how  to  train  a 
horse.  You  will  learn  that  when  you  are  older.  You 
have  probably  been  given  a  well-broken  pony  or  small 
horse  to  ride.  Suppose  we  call  him  Don.  If  you  can- 
not have  a  pony,  you  can  learn  on  any  horse.  And  a 
big  one  has  some  decided  advantages  over  a  little  one. 
Don,  I  have  no  doubt,  knows  how  to  walk,  trot,  and 
canter  at  will. 


IN    THE    SADDLE.  17 

When  you  feel  perfectly  at  home  on  Don's  back,  so 
that  you  do  not  hold  on  hy  the  reins  in  the  least  degree, 
you  have  learned  the  first  lesson,  and  can  come  to  the 
next  one — how  to  manage  him.  But  you  must  bear  in 
mind  that  you  will  never  be  a  horseman  if  your  seat  is 
not  strong  and  secure  at  any  gait  with  the  reins  lying 
on  his  neck.  You  ought  to  ride  at  first  with  a  snaffle- 
bit  and  single  rein.  Perhaps  Don  pulls  on  your  hands. 
This  is  unfortunate,  because  it  is  apt  to  get  you  in  the 
habit  of  pulling  on  his  mouth,  and  you  may  grow  to 
be  a  "three-legged  rider."  A  soft-mouthed  pony  is 
much  better  for  you  to  learn  on. 

There  are  two  ways  for  you  to  guide  Don.  One  is 
to  hold  a  rein  in  each  hand,  using  them  just  as  you  do 
in  driving.  This  is  very  simple.  You  can  also  learn 
to  do  this  with  the  reins  in  one  hand,  turning  the  wrist 
to  draw  either  rein.  The  other  way  is  to  teach  Don  to 
guide  by  the  neck.  This  is  what  the  cavalryman  does, 
because  he  must  keep  his  right  arm  for  his  sword.  If 
Don  knows  both  ways,  you  can  ride  with  one  or  both 
hands,  as  you  like.  Still  it  is  well  to  use  both  hands 
a  good  deal,  because  this  keeps  your  shoulders  square. 
But  don't  pull  Don's  head  too  far  round  to  turn  him. 
Teach  him  to  mind  a  slight  pull,  and  keep  your  hands 
close  enough  together  to  shorten  rein  readily. 


18  RIDING,   DRIVING,   FENCING. 

The  place  for  your  hands  is  just  above  the  pommel 
of  the  saddle.  Only  by  keeping  your  hands  low  can 
yon  possibly  control  Don  to  advantage.  If  you  throw 
up  your  hands  when  he  starts  or  plays,  you  will  lose 
control  of  him.  Always  remember  this — your  hands 
must  be  light  and  low. 

There  are  two  other  means  of  guiding  Don — the 
voice  and  the  legs.  If  you  accustom  Don  to  listen  to 
your  voice,  he  will  get  very  fond  of  it,  and  pay  a  great 
deal  of  heed  to  you.  I  discuss  all  manner  of  knotty 
points  with  my  Patroclus  and  Diomed  and  Penelope. 
They  are  capital  listeners,  and  very  helpful.  You  have 
no  idea  how  much  Don  will  understand.  If  he  shies 
or  is  playful,  talk  to  and  laugh  at  him.  Never  strike 
him  in  anger.  He  will  learn  to  be  much  more  safe 
and  companionable  by  kindness.  I  assume,  of  course, 
that  Don  is  a  lively  little  fellow.  There  are  some 
ponies  who  have  no  more  life  than  pigs.  But  you 
might  as  well  expect  to  become  a  bold  rider  astride 
the  saw-horse. 

Your  legs  can  be  made  of  more  use  than  your  hands 
in  guiding  your  pony.  Your  seat  only  requires  your 
leg  down  to  the  knee;  and  if  your  legs  hang  easily 
below  the  knee,  you  can  use  that  part  of  it  to  guide 
and  control  Don.     I  will  tell  you  how  by-and-by. 


IN    THE    SADDLE.  19 

"'Andslow,"  then,  means  not  only  that  you  must 
keep  your  hands  well  down,  and  not  pull  on  Don's 
mouth  for  your  support,  but  that  you  must  try  to  keep 
control  of  him  without  allowing  him  to  pull  on  you ; 
and  use  your  voice  and  legs  besides. 

"'Ead  'igh"  means  that  you  must  neither  lean  for- 
ward, nor  back,  nor  one-sided,  but  sit  straight  in  your 
saddle,  without  being  stiff.  A  man  who  is  stiff  can 
never  ride.  You  must  sit  as  easily  as  if  in  a  chair, 
and  not  let  your  grip  disturb  the  close  seat  you  learned 
bareback.  Your  backbone  must  be  erect,  but  not  rigid. 
Your  arms  must  hang  quite  naturally,  and  your  whole 
position  must  be  so  easy  that  you  can  lean  back  far 
enough  almost  to  lie  upon  the  horse,  or  can  move  side- 
wise  or  forward  on  the  waist,  with  perfect  ease.  You 
should  be  able  to  put  either  leg  up  in  front  of  you  on 
the  pommel,  and,  in  fact,  do  anything  you  could  do  in 
a  chair.  "'Ead  'igh"  means  perfect  ease,  security,  and 
confidence  in  the  saddle. 

Last,  but  all-important,  is  the  "*eart  'igh."  No 
coward  ever  rode  well.  You  may  be  timid  for  a  day 
or  two  if  you  have  never  been  on  a  horse.  But  you 
will  soon  find  that  riding  is  easy  and  natural.  And 
unless  you  are  quite  fearless,  you  may  be  sure  that 


20  EIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

Don  will  know  it  and  never  obey  you.  Of  course  any 
boy  can  mount  a  pony  who  is  perfectly  quiet,  and  ride 
a  few  miles  without  falling  off.  But  to  become  a 
horseman  a  boy  must  be  sure  that  he  is  stronger  and 
more  able  than  his  pony,  and  can  manage  him  and 
make  him  do  anything  within  reason.  Then  he  will 
learn  fast.  If  he  is  timid  he  will  never  learn.  And 
remember  that  it  is  not  the  bragging,  bullying,  fight- 
ing boy  who  is  always  brave.  I  have  been  where  true 
courage  came  to  the  fore,  and  have  more  often  found 
it  in  the  quiet,  steady,  and  often  small  and  pale-faced 
boy  than  in  the  swashbuckler.  Such  a  lad  was  Ulysses 
S.  Grant,  and  he  was  a  famous  horseman  from  his 
youth  up,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  truly  brave  of 
men. 


II. 


And  now  let  us  suppose  that  you  have  got  a  good 
firm  seat  and  light  hands,  and  that  you  can  ride  along 
the  road  at  a  walk,  trot,  and  canter,  and  feel  as  much 
at  home  as  if  you  were  on  foot.     The  next  thing  Don 


IN    THE    SADDLE.  21 

and  you  may  learn  is  to  jump  a  fence  cleverly.  Have 
you  never  felt  a  desire  to  leap  over  into  a  field,  and 
gallop  along  the  soft  turf?  I've  no  doubt  you  have 
been  sorry  that  you  could  not  do  so,  and  have  thought 
it  a  very  great  feat.  But  it  is  not  hard  at  all.  Any 
one  can  easily  learn  to  sit  a  clever  jumper  over  a  fence 
or  brook.  The  dificulty  lies  in  teaching  the  horse  to 
jump  willingly  and  handily.  Would  you  like  to  teach 
Don  ?  In  the  country  this  is  simple  enough.  In  the 
city  it  may  not  be  easy  to  get  a  good  place  to  practise 
in.  The  way  to  begin  is  to  find  a  fallen  log,  or  a  gate 
of  which  yon  can  let  down  the  bars  until  it  is  only 
eighteen  or  twenty  inches  high.  Then  walk  Don  up 
to  it,  and  encourage  him  to  step  over  it  often  and  qui- 
etly, until  he  gets  in  the  habit  of  lifting  up  his  feet 
quickly  and  promptly  when  he  reaches  it.  Always 
coax  him;  never  strike  him.  Keep  a  little  sugar  or 
salt  or  a  bit  of  apple  in  your  pocket  for  him,  and  give 
him  a  taste  after  he  goes  over.  This  will  make  him 
like  to  do  it.  By-and-by  Don  will  find  when  he  walks 
briskly  up  to  the  obstacle  that  it  is  easier  to  rise  with 
both  his  forefeet  and  hop  over  it  than  to  lift  up  each 
so  high.  As  soon  as  he  does  this,  be  sure  to  pat  and 
reward  him,  for  this  is  the  great  step  gained,  after 


22  BIDING,   DRIVING,   FENCING. 

which  it  is  only  a  matter  of  practise  and  patience, 
raising  the  height  by  slow  degrees,  to  make  him  jmnp 
two  feet  and  a  half  or  three  feet.  When  he  can  do 
this,  he  does  as  well  as  any  pony  need.  At  the  instant 
of  jumping  give  him  his  head;  don't  pull  on  him. 
But  when  he  lands,  take  hold  of  his  mouth  a  trifle, 
so  that  he  shall  not  stumble. 

Now  about  yourself.  You  will  be  learning  at  the 
same  time.  When  Don  begins  to  rise  at  his  leap,  do 
you  lean  back,  settle  down  in  your  seat,  and  hold  on 
with  all  the  legs  you  have,  except  your  heels.  As  you 
hold  on  remember  your  bareback  seat,  but  throw  your 
feet  to  the  rear  a  bit,  so  as  not  to  lose  your  stirrups, 
which  should  be  ^'home,"  i.  e.,  under  the  small  of  the 
foot.  If  you  are  going  to  leap  much,  you  may  shorten 
your  leathers  a  hole  or  two.  Some  people  may  tell 
you  to  lean  forward  as  Don  rises,  and  then  back  when 
he  leaps.  But  don't  you  try  it.  Lean  back.  You 
may  save  yourself  a  "cropper." 

When  Don  walks  up  to  the  bar  and  takes  it  cleverly, 
and  you  sit  it  without  going  out  of  the  saddle,  trot 
him  up  to  it.  Many  horses  jump  best  from  a  trot,  and 
many  bold  riders  always  trot  up  to  timber,  while  they 
gallop  up  to  a  hedge  or  a  ditch.   Later  you  may  canter 


IN   THE    SADDLE.  23 

Don  up  to  the  bar,  to  make  him  familiar  with  his 
work  at  all  gaits.  By  these  means,  and  by  rewarding 
him  whenever  he  has  jumped  nicely,  he  and  you  will 
both  grow  to  be  fond  of  it.  But  do  you  never  strike 
him  at  a  jump.  Many  of  the  best  horses  have  been  so 
discouraged  by  a  cut  with  the  whip  when  they  were 
trying  to  do  their  best  that  they  have  lost  all  courage, 
and  refuse  to  leap  even  small  obstables.  Don  will  get 
to  love  praise  very  much.  Blows  will  accomplish 
nothing.  Don't  keep  on  making  Don  leap  till  he  is 
tired.  You  want  him  to  like  it,  not  to  weary  him  with 
it.     You  can  by  these  means  both  learn  to  leap  well. 

I  told  you  before  that  you  could  use  your  legs  to 
guide  Don.  Many  hundred  books  have  been  written 
on  this  subject,  from  Xenophon  down,  but  I  must  tell 
you  in  so  few  words  that  you  will  get  only  a  very 
slight  idea  of  it.  Suppose  you  had  spurs  on  your  heels, 
and  should  gently  and  quietly  touch  Don  with  one  of 
them  while  holding  the  reins  so  that  he  will  not  move 
forward.  What  will  he  do?  Why,  move  away  from 
the  spur  by  stepping  sidewise  with  his  hind-feet.  Now 
if  you  did  it  with  the  other  heel,  he  would  step  away 
from  that  one.  All  well-trained  horses  are  thus  taught 
to  move  their  croup,  or  hind-quarters,  away  from  the 


24  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

spur  or  heel,  and  after  a  while  a  horse  will  get  so  sen- 
sitive that  the  least  movement  of  the  heel  toward  his 
side  suffices  to  make  him  do  this.  It  is  just  as  impor- 
tant to  make  a  horse  shift  his  croup  to  either  side  as 
to  make  him  shift  his  forehand.  And  it  is  the  horse 
who  does  this  well  that  is  most  easily  guided.  You  can 
see  that  if  you  want  to  turn  a  corner  to  the  left,  you 
can  do  it  by  moving  Don's  head  to  the  left,  or  by 
swinging  his  croup  round  to  the  right,  for  either  will 
give  him  the  new  direction.  And  it  looks  very  stupid 
to  have  to  pull  a  horse's  head  'way  round  to  one  side 
to  make  him  turn  a  corner. 

This  use  of  the  croup  helps  in  many  other  ways 
besides,  which  I  cannot  now  explain  to  you.  But  you 
will  wonder  when  I  tell  you  that  horses  may  be  trained 
even  to  do  such  extraordinary  things  as  to  trot  and 
gallop  and  jump  fences  backward.  Not  that  there  is 
any  great  use  in  doing  these  feats,  but  teaching  them 
makes  a  horse  and  rider  obedient  and  skilful. 

Now  there  is  another  use  of  the  legs.  If  you  quietly 
bring  both  your  heels  near  Don's  sides,  he  will  be  apt 
to  move  his  hind-legs  a  little  more  under  him  than 
usual,  so  as  to  start  forward;  and  if  the  bit  restrains 
him,  and  his  mouth  is  soft,  so  that  he  arches  his  neck 


IN   THE    SADDLE.  25 

and  champs  his  bit,  he  will  be  what  horsemen  call 
"collected,"  or,  as  it  were,  balanced.  In  this  position 
he  will  be  much  more  ready  to  perform  what  you 
desire  than  if  he  is  in  a  sprawling  one,  which  is 
always  stiff. 

From  this  you  can  see  that  the  best  use  of  spurs  is 
not  to  make  a  horse  go  or  to  punish  him,  but  to  guide 
and  control  him.  A  w^ell-trained  horse  almost  never 
needs  punishment.  Only  in  a  race  are  whips  and  spurs 
needed  to  push  a  horse.  And  a  celebrated  jockey  once 
advised  another  to  throw  his  whip  over  the  fence  if  he 
wanted  to  win  a  race.  A  generous  horse  who  under- 
stands his  rider  needs  no  whip. 

You  may  wonder  why  a  horse  should  be  taught  all 
these  things.  Why  not  let  him  move  as  nature 
prompts  him?  you  ask.  Well,  a  horse  that  is  free  can 
manage  his  own  weiglit  very  handily  himself.  But 
put  a  man  on  his  back,  and  he  requires  instruction  how 
to  manage  himself  and  his  burden,  under  the  control 
of  the  rider,  to  the  best  advantage.  Suppose  you 
yourself  should  try  to  run  and  jump  with  fifteen  or 
twenty  povmds  on  your  back ;  you  would  quickly 
understand  what  a  man's  weight  adds  to  a  horse's  duty. 

Now  in  order  to  teach  Don  to  move  his  croup,  you 


26  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

will  have  to  be  very  patient,  and  teach  him  only  one 
side  step  at  a  time,  caressing  him  every  time  he  has 
responded  to  your  spur,  and  making  him  enjoy  the 
learning  as  much  as  you  do  the  teaching.  When  he 
has  been  well  taught  he  will  be  able  to  move  his  hind- 
quarters in  a  complete  circle  about  his  forefeet,  which 
should  remain  a  fixed  pivot,  and  his  fore-quarters 
around,  with  his  hind-feet  as  pivot.  But  he  knows 
enough  for  your  purpose  if  he  will  thus  shift  two  or 
three  steps  quickly.  And  by  using  your  heel  and  bit 
both,  you  see  that  you  can  teach  him  to  walk  sidewise, 
or  what  riders  call  traverse. 

When  you  have  mastered  all  I  have  told  you,  Don 
will  not  only  be  a  much  better  pony,  but  you  will  be 
quite  a  promising  young  horseman,  anxious  to  learn 
more  about  equestrianism  as  an  art.  I  have  scarcely 
told  you  its  A  B  C.  The  rest  you  can  learn  when  you 
are  older.  There  is  just  as  much  to  learn  in  equitation 
as  there  is  in  music  or  painting,  and  no  art  is  more 
pleasant  to  study.  There  is  as  much  difference  between 
a  fine  rider  and  a  man  who  only  sticks  to  a  horse  and 
makes  him  turn  to  right  or  left  or  jump  fences,  as 
there  is  between  Mother  Goose  and  Milton. 

And  now  a  word  to  the  girls.     You  may  think  that 


IN    THE    SADDLE.  27 

a  girl  cannot  do  as  much  as  a  boy,  but  slie  can.  In 
the  South  girls  often  ride  bareback,  sitting  somewhat 
as  they  would  in  a  side-saddle,  and  using  a  stick  to 
guide  the  horse.  But  I  presume  that  a  girl  here  must 
begin  on  a  saddle.  It  will  be  well  for  you  to  remem- 
ber that  a  girl's  seat  on  a  properly  fitting  saddle  is  just 
as  firm  and  secure  as  a  boy's.  Some  of  the  boldest 
leapers  in  England  are  women.  And  while  leaping  is 
not  necessarily  evidence  of  fine  horsemanship,  it  re- 
quires a  strong  seat,  courage,  and  discretion.  Your 
saddle  ought  to  have  the  leaping  horn,  which  curves 
over  the  left  knee.  Without  it  you  have  to  depend 
too  much  on  balancing.  Your  left  foot  wants  to  be  in 
the  stirrup  at  such  a  length  as  that  you  can,  by  slightly 
raising  the  heel,  hold  it  hard  against  this  horn,  while 
the  right  leg  presses  on  the  other.  You  ought  to  hold 
the  left  knee  well  against  the  saddle,  and  be  able,  like 
a  boy,  to  swing  the  leg,  from  the  knee  down,  easily  to 
and  fro,  though  it  should  generally  hang  straight. 
The  right  leg  should  hang  equally  straight  and  close 
to  the  saddle  over  its  horn ;  and  if  you  lower  the  heel 
of  this  foot,  you  get  a  better  grip.  The  saddle  may  be 
too  big,  but  must  not  be  too  small.  You  must  feel  free 
to  move  your  body  in  all  directions,  and  sit  just  as 


28  RIDING,    DEIVING,   FENCING. 

easily  and  comfortably  as  a  boy.  If  your  saddle  is 
girthed  on  firm,  you  are  as  safe  as  possible. 

Everything  I  have  said  to  the  boys  applies  to  you. 
Be  particular  to  sit  square.  This  is  all-important. 
You  need  to  have  some  one  occasionally  watch  you 
from  behind  to  tell  you  whether  you  sit  upright  and 
in  the  middle  of  your  saddle,  particularly  when  rising 
to  a  trot.  A  girl  who  leans  over  to  the  left  or  sits 
too  much  to  the  right  runs  the  risk  of  her  saddle  turn- 
ing and  of  getting  her  pony's  back  sore.  Keep  your 
shoulders  square,  and  let  your  arms  hang  naturally. 
Rise  to  a  trot  squarely;  don't  wriggle.  It  is  more 
important  for  you  to  ride  with  two  hands  than  for  a 
boy,  so  as  to  keep  your  hands  low,  but  it  is  also  well 
to  learn  to  use  one  hand  only.  You  can  use  your  whip 
in  place  of  a  boy's  right  leg,  and  if  your  seat  is  good 
and  your  skirts  not  too  long,  you  can  use  your  left 
leg  as  well  as  he. 

A  boy's  seat  is  nearer  the  horse  than  a  girl's,  but  it 
is  no  stronger.  A  girl  can  leap  as  well  as  any  boy, 
but  she  wants  to  be  more  careful,  because  if  she  falls 
her  skirts  may  catch  and  embarrass  her.  For  this 
reason  a  girl  had  better  not  try  to  leap  more  than  two- 
feet-and-a-half  obstacles,  and  her  pony  should  be  trained 


IN    THE    SADDLE.  29 

not  to  rush  after  he  has  cleared  the  obstacle.  The  best 
way  to  do  this  is  to  pull  up  your  pony,  and  give  him  a 
bit  of  sugar  now  and  then  after  he  has  jumped  well. 
This  will  lead  him  to  expect  it,  and  make  him  apt  to 
stop  if  anything  happens. 

Learn  how  your  saddle  should  be  put  on,  and  see 
yourself  that  it  is  firm,  before  you  mount,  and  more 
than  once  during  every  ride.  Feel  now  and  then  that 
your  girths  are  tight. 

Boys  can  dress  any  way.  A  girl  will  be  most  com- 
fortable if  she  will  wear  a  boy's  under-clothes  and 
socks  and  trousers  under  her  riding  dress.  Long  stock- 
ings are  apt  to  make  folds  under  the  right  knee.  My 
own  little  girls  of  twelve  and  fourteen  have  such  sum- 
mer and  winter  suits  for  riding,  and  find  them  altogether 
the  best.  They  have  been  brought  up  to  ride  by  just 
the  rules  I  have  given  you,  and  either  can  ride  Pen- 
elope, who  is  a  high-strung  sixteen-hand  thorough- 
bred, over  a  full-size  hurdle  or  wide  ditch  as  bravely  as 
their  brother.  The  old  huntsman's  ^''Ands  and  'eels 
loiv,  'ead  and  'eart  'igh,''  covers  the  ground  for  girls  as 
well  as  boys. 

All  the  gaits,  walk,  trot,  canter  and  gallop,  will  be 
easy  to  you  long  before  you  are  perfect  in  what  I  have 


30  EIDING,   DKIVING,   FENCING. 

told  you.  Remember  your  seat,  always  close  unless 
rising  to  a  trot,  and  then  close  as  may  be ;  your  hands, 
always  light  and  low;  your  head  keeping  your  body 
erect  and  lithe,  and  your  heart  in  the  right  spot.  And 
I  have  found  that  girls,  though  they  have  not  generally 
the  kind  of  bravery  that  a  boy  has,  as  a  rule  possess 
that  which  will  make  them  confident  and  skilful  in 
the  saddle. 


III. 


And  now,  before  we  say  good-by,  we  will  take  a  ride, 
together.  You,  Dick,  must  let  Polly  ride  Don.  The 
lady  should  always  have  the  best  and  safest  mount.  I 
will  lend  you  my  new  cob  Punchinello,  who  is  head- 
strong enough  to  suit  the  most  ambitious  boy,  and  will 
be  as  much  of  a  handful  as  you  want.  I  will  ride  Pa- 
troclus,  the  perfect,  my  daily  companion  for  seven 
years,  who  knows  all  that  a  horse  should  know,  never 
has  done  a  wrong  thing,  seen  a  sick  day,  or  taken  a 
lame  step.     Few  horses  have  so  good  a  record. 

Of  course,  Dick,  you  know  how  to  mount  a  lady.     1 


IN    THE    SADDLE.  31 

will  stand  at  Don's  head,  though  indeed  he  does  not 
need  watching.  He  is  fond  of  a  girl  rider,  for  he  is 
sure  of  gentle  treatment,  which  all  boys  do  not  give 
him,  and  perhaps  a  lump  of  sugar.  Come,  Polly, 
stand  here,  close  by  your  saddle,  and  facing  Don's 
head.  Put  your  right  hand  on  the  upper  horn  and 
your  left  on  Dick's  shoulder,  who  will  stand  facing 
you ;  place  your  left  foot  in  Dick's  hand,  and  when  he 
counts  one,  two,  three,  spring  upward ;  he  will  help  lift 
you,  and — there  you  are  safely  in  your  seat.  Now  put 
your  right  leg  over  the  upper  and  your  left  knee  under 
the  leaping  horn,  and  Dick  will  adjust  your  foot  in  the 
stirrup;  pull  the  folds  of  your  skirt  straight,  so  as  to 
be  comfortable,  take  your  reins  and  whip,  and  you  are 
your  own  mistress,  and  Don's  too.  Dick  and  I  soon 
mount,  and  we  are  at  your  service. 

In  the  South  they  have  mounting  blocks,  for  ladies 
ride  alone  a  great  deal,  and  a  clever  girl  can  mount 
from  a  fence  or  stump  if  her  pony  is  quiet.  But 
ladies  are  not  as  independent  now  as  years  ago,  when 
they  rode  astride  like  men.  I  used  to  know  an  old 
lady,  Grafin  zu  Dohna,  in  Silesia,  who  in  her  youth 
always  rode  thus.  Their  costumes — wide  Turkish 
trousers,  with  a  long  skirt  on  both  sides — were  quite 


32  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

picturesque.  One  can  still  find  pictures  of  them  in 
old  books,  prancing  along  very  gayly.  I  think  it  is  a 
good  plan  for  little  girls  to  learn  bare-back,  like  boys, 
for  they  get  accustomed  to  a  sort  of  balance  on  the 
horse ;  but  when  they  come  within  hail  of  young  lady- 
hood they  must  sober  down  to  a  side-saddle. 

We  will,  if  you  please,  walk  our  horses  for  a  mile  or 
so.  Many  young  beasts  are  rather  gay  on  first  going 
out,  but  it  is  well  to  teach  them  to  walk  until  w^e  find 
that  everything  is  in  proper  trim.  Dick,  you  ride  on 
Polly's  right.  The  safer  side  is  certainly  the  left,  for 
your  right  hand  is  then  nearest  her,  and  in  case  of 
need  I  have  known  a  man  to  bodily  lift  a  lady  clear  of 
her  saddle ;  but  fashion  dictates  the  right  side.  Remem- 
ber, too,  that  it  is  the  lady's  option  to  give  the  pace, 
and  her  every  wish  should  be  your  law.  You  must 
not  leave  her  side,  and  only  danger  should  allow  you 
to  exert  your  own  will.  Nothing  is  more  un gallant 
than  to  cross  your  Amazon's  choice  or  to  leave  her  side 
for  a  moment.  It  is  only  "Sunday  riders"  who  go 
stringing  along  the  road  at  a  breakneck  pace.  Expert 
horsemen  ride  close  together,  and  slowly,  as  a  rule,  so 
as  to  indulge  in  pleasant  talk. 

Now  let  us  start  into  a  modest  trot.      Gather  up 


IN    THE    SADDLE.  33 

your  reins,  snaffle  most,  and  a  steady  "  Come,  Don ! " 
will  suffice.  Southern  horses  are  taught  to  trot  when 
you  pull  their  mane.  I  prefer  a  word  or  a  sign  of  the 
reins.  Patroclus  will  go  half  a  dozen  gaits,  and 
change  from  any  one  to  any  other  by  a  very  slight  sign 
of  the  reins  or  a  word.  I  shall  drop  behind  you,  Polly, 
to  see  how  you  rise  to  your  trot.  Some  girls  need  to 
go  fast  to  rise  well,  but  this  shows  lack  of  skill.  You 
can,  I  see,  rise  to  a  slow  trot,  and  well  too.  Your 
backbone  is  straight  over  Don's.  Now  don't  lean  for- 
ward quite  so  much,  nor  sit  back  too  stiff,  and  you'll 
do  admirably. 

Ah,  Dick,  I  thought  Punch  would  keep  you  busy. 
He's  a  very  rogue  for  shying  till  he  finds  out  that 
you're  not  timid.  But  don't  be  angry.  A  blow  will 
only  make  him  worse  next  time.  Reason  with  him, 
and  tell  him  not  to  be  foolish.  It  is  the  tone  of  your 
voice  does  it.  Shying  may  generally  be  overcome  by 
firm  kindness,  unless,  indeed,  it  comes  from  bad  eyes ; 
it  never  can  by  rough  usage.  I  have  worked  weeks 
sometimes  to  make  a  horse  forget  a  single  unnecessary 
cut  of  the  whip. 

Here  we  come  to  a  soft  stretch  of  dirt-road. 
Shall  we  take  a  canter?     Polly,  draw  up  your  curb  a 


34  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

bit,  not  too  tight,  but  enough  to  bring  in  Don's  head, 
and  at  the  same  minute  lift  your  reins  so  as  to  gather 
him,  and  touch  him  with  your  heel.  There,  that  sends 
him  into  a  canter,  with  the  right  shoulder  leading, 
which  is  easier  for  a  girl.  Now,  steady !  We  don't 
want  to  rush  into  a  gallop.  Any  plug  can  gallop. 
Only  the  well-trained  hack  is  able  or  willing  to  put  a 
twelve-mile  gallop  into  a  five-mile  canter,  and  when  he 
does  there  is  nothing  so  agreeable.  Handle  your  reins 
lightly,  so  that  Don  will  mouth  his  bit  as  he  canters, 
and  you  can  hold  him  with  a  silken  skein.  But  Punch, 
you  see,  is  obstinate,  and  needs  muscle;  he  has  not 
been  well-bitted.  There  is  no  pace  capable  of  finer 
gradations  than  the  canter.  Well  performed,  it  is  the 
most  exquisite  of  motions.  A  loose-jointed,  ten-mile 
rush  is  not  worthy  the  name  of  canter.  There  should 
be  a  perfect  and  slow  rhythm  to  the  feet,  as  well  as  a 
vigorous,  springy  action. 

What  do  you  say  to  crossing  the  fields  here  and 
making  a  bee-line  for  the  highway?  Hold  hard,  and 
let  us  take  our  bearings.  This  field  won't  do,  for  on 
the  other  side,  you  see,  is  a  wall  laid  in  cement,  with 
sharp-edged  cap-stones.  I  never  like  to  let  a  girl  take 
any  but  easy  jumps,  and  don't  like  dangerous  ones  my- 


IN    THE    SADDLE.  35 

self  as  well  as  when  I  was  a  boy.  The  next  field,  I 
notice,  has  a  low  Wall  on  tliis  side  and  an  easy  fence 
on  the  other,  and  we  can  skirt  the  marshy  lowland 
and  find  a  narrow  place  to  jump  yonder  brook.  It  is 
not  more  than  five  feet  wide  in  places.  Now,  Dick,  you 
and  Punch  lead,  so  as  to  make  Don  jump  free.  Never 
fear  Punch;  all  he  wants  is  a  little  rein.  Select  that 
place  where  the  wall  is  low,  and  take  it  moderately 
after  you  land.  Polly,  do  you  forget  everything  except 
to  lean  back,  grip  your  horns  for  all  you  are  worth, 
and  let  Don  have  his  head.  Loosen  your  curb  before 
you  start.  Now,  Dick !  See  Punch  go  at  it  shaking 
his  head  for  very  delight!  Over  he  is  !  Now  for  you, 
Polly !  Leave  Don  to  himself,  and — brava,  pretty ! 
You  sat  that  well,  though  your  hat  did  get  knocked 
over  your  eyes.  Hold  hard,  Dick.  If  Punch  goes  on 
that  way,  we  shall  bid  good-by  to  him  and  you  for  the 
rest  of  the  afternoon.  Pull  him  down.  We  are  not 
steeple-chasing.  Keep  to  the  right  of  the  damp 
ground,  well  up  the  slope,  and  make  for  that  panel  in 
the  fence  where  the  top  rail  is  gone. 

You  hold  on,  Polly,  till  you  see  Dick  well  across  be- 
fore you  follow.  If  he  should  come  down,  you  might 
land  atop  of  him  else.     I  will  take  the  panel  next  to 


36  RIDING,    DRIVING,   FENCING. 

you,  and  we  will  go  it  neck  and  neck.  Steady  him 
down.  Never  go  wildly  at  a  jump.  Always  keep  to  a 
gait  such  that  your  horse  feels  you  are  cool-headed, 
and  he  will  be  so  too.  Let  him  do  his  own  work. 
This  '* lifting"  a  horse  is  only  for  the  very  expert.  If 
he  knows  from  your  reins  that  your  heart  is  in  the 
right  spot,  he  will  jump  boldly;  and  if  it  isn't,  he  will 
guess  it  sure,  and  probably  refuse.  Here  we  come. 
Now  for  it!  Good  again!  Polly,  you  are  a  trump! 
That  was  strong  three  feet.  We  will  brisk  up  into  a 
hand-gallop  across  this  pretty  meadow  and  over  the 
brook — ditch  doesn't  sound  well — which  is  just  beyond 
us.  Dick,  let  Polly  have  the  place  to  the  left  of  the 
bushes.  The  take-off  is  firm  there,  and  a  trifle  higher 
than  the  landing  bank.  We  can  all  go  together  as 
well  as  not.  Watch  the  horses'  ears  as  they  see  the 
water  ahead.  Never  fear;  they  will  all  take  it  handily 
in  company,  though  Don  might  not  do  so  alone.  Give 
him  a  word  of  cheer,  Polly,  to  make  him  feel  that  all's 
well.  Now,  then — over  we  are.  Didn't  you  feel  like 
a  swallow  on  the  wing?  Is  there  anything  like  it? 
Let  us  pull  down  and  take  it  easy. 

And  now,  as  we  walk  along  over  the  soft  turf,  or 
pause,   indeed,   a   few   minutes  while  our  nags  get  a 


IN    THE    SADDLE.  37 

nibble  of  the  fresh  young  grass,  I  want  to  spin  you  a 
yarn  about  a  real  Don  and  his  plucky  boy  rider  whom 
1  have  learned  to  know  since  I  named  our  pony  Don. 
This  little  beast,  whose  full  name  is  Don  Bucephalus, 
grew  up  on  the  pampas  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  on 
a  ranch  where  some  fifty  thousand  sheep  were  herded, 
with  lambs  for  playmates,  and  the  horizon  alone  to 
fence  him  in.  He  was  given  to  the  Captain  of  an 
American  schooner  which  made  a  yearly  trip  to  Rosa- 
rio  for  fruits  and  other  products  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata 
country.  The  only  way  in  which  Don  could  be  got  on 
board  was  to  rig  a  tackle  to  the  yard-arm,  put  him  in 
a  sling — which  is  a  broad  band  around  the  body,  held 
in  place  by  straps  front  and  rear — and  hoist  him  up. 
But  Don  was  so  frightened  when  he  found  himself  in 
mid-air  that  he  struggled  loose  from  the  sling,  and 
took  a  header  into  the  river.  They  fished  him  out, 
and  on  the  second  trial  he  was  wise  enough  to  keep 
quiet ;  for  Don  is  something  of  a  philosopher.  Once 
on  deck,  he  was  put  in  a  huge  box,  just  wide  enough 
to  squeeze  him  into,  so  that  the  sides  should  hold  him 
steady  when  the  ship  pitched.  Here  Don  stood  two 
long  months,  asleep  or  awake,  with  his  head  and  tail 
alternately  bobbing  out  of  the  ends  of  his  novel  '^box 


38  RIDING,   DRIVING,    FENCING. 

stall,"  as  the  schooner  rolled  to  and  fro  over  the 
waves. 

Sailors  are  always  fond  of  pets,  and  Don  was  a 
prime  favorite.  The  crew  fed  him  on  hay  as  long  as 
the  supply  they  had  taken  on  board  lasted,  and  then 
on  potato  peelings  and  ship's  biscuit.  Finally  Boston 
Harbor  was  made,  and  Don  found  release  from  his 
prison.  Every  one  supposed  that  this  wild  pampas 
pony  would  be  frightened  out  of  his  wits  at  the  novel 
sights  of  a  city.  But  Don  had  too  much  wit  to  be 
frightened,  and  as  a  citizen  of  the  world  would  not 
show  surprise,  if  he  felt  any;  he  simply  ignored  the 
whole  proceeding,  and  behaved  as  if  he  had  long  ago 
divined  it  all.  He  walked  through  Boston  streets 
probably  feeling  akin  to  its  intellectual  atmosphere, 
stared  the  locomotive  out  of  countenance  when  he  was 
put  on  the  cars  to  be  taken  to  his  new  home,  and 
accepted  everything  as  a  matter  of  course. 

The  Captain's  people  did  not  know  what  to  do  with 
the  little  fellow,  and  sold  him  for  a  song  to  a  young 
bank  clerk,  whom,  though  Don  is-  only  twelve  and  one- 
half  hands  high,  he  managed  to  carry  without  effort. 
Once,  indeed,  he  ran  away  with  him,  and  on  another 
occasion  was  put  into  a  race,  in  which,  though  beaten, 


IN    THE    SADDLE.  39 

he  ran  his  three  furlongs  in  forty-eight  seconds  with 
his  owner  in  the  saddle.  On  this  gentleman's  death, 
soon  after,  poor  Don  fell  into  cruel  hands,  whose  un- 
reasonable treatment  he  repaid  with  many  spirited  and 
resentful  pranks,  thus  earning  the  reputation  of  treach- 
ery— a  vice  quite  foreign  to  his  nature.  Finally  good 
fortune  cast  his  lot  with  his  present  owner.  Master 

Alfred  B ,   of  Fall  River,  then  only  seven  years 

old. 

Alfred  had  ridden  little,  but  he  had  the  stuff  in  him 
of  which  riders  are  made,  and  the  first  day  he  tried 
racing  Don  against  his  older  brother's  big  pony.  Not 
knowing  Don's  temper — indeed,  knowing  nothing  of 
riding — he  struck  him  with  a  stick.  The  spirit  of  the 
pampas  rose  at  once  in  revolt.  Off  went  Don  like  the 
wind,  leaving  the  other  pony  far  in  the  rear,  threading 
the  mazes  of  a  funeral  procession,  and  bringing  every 
one  to  the  scene  where,  like  John  Gilpin  of  old,  this 
curly-pated  youngster  ran  his  race. 

"The  dogs  did  bark,  the  children  screamed, 

Up  flew  the  windows  all ; 
And  every  soul  cried  out,  '  Well  done  ! ' 

As  loud  as  he  could  bawl. ' ' 

But  Alfred  was  in  no  whit  dismayed.  He  stuck  to  Don 
like  a  trump  as  he  flashed  along  the  road  for  nearly 


40  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

three  miles,  kept  his  head  and  seat,  p^nd  finally  pulled 
him  up.  When  he  got  home  he  mildly  observed,  ''I  think 
I  won't  ride  any  more  to-day,  mamma."  And  when 
his  mother,  surprised,  asked  what  had  happened,  he 
told  her  Don  had  run  away,  and  added,  "  But  I  staid 
on,  mamma,  and  I  think  he  was  getting  tuckered." 

Every  one  now  protested  that  it  was  too  dangerous 
a  thing  to  keep  Don,  but  the  boy  had  no  such  fears, 
and  Don  staid.  In  a  short  while  he  found  that  he  was 
among  friends,  where  he  need  not  fight  for  existence, 
and  all  that  was  sweet  in  him  came  out  to  repay  the 
children's  petting.  He  is  by  nature  as  docile  as  he 
is  strong  and  plucky,  and  his  young  owner  fairly 
matches  him. 

Don  is  a  famous  jumper,  and  has  cleared  obstacles 
all  but  as  high  as  himself,  while  Alfred  has  taken  a 
five-foot  hurdle  on  his  mother's  thorough-bred.  No 
one  who  has  seen  the  pair  ride  to  hounds  would  recog- 
nize the  pony  while  of  a  summer  day,  he  patiently 
waits  unhitched,  on  the  sandy  beach  for  six  or  eight 
children  to  finish  their  bath,  to  and  from  which  he 
daily  drags  the  whole  crowd  in  a  village  cart;  or,  in- 
deed, when  the  boys  stand  him  on  the  stable  floor, 
hang  a  hat  on  his  ear,  and  play  leap-frog  with  him. 


IN    THE    SADDLE.  41 

One  day  on  the  beach  Don  stood  quietly  while  the 
children  buried  him  nearly  up  to  the  body  in  sand,  and 
the  young  ones  all  aver  that  he  winked  at  them  in 
pure  enjoyment  of  their  fun. 

Master  Alfred  seems  to  have  all  the  qualities  which 
go  to  make  the  typical  horseman.  He  is  cool  and 
courageous;  he  has  a  firm,  steady  seat,  and  is  kind 
and  judicious.  With  these  to  start  with,  everything 
else  will  come.  I  hope  I  shall  know  him  a  dozen 
years  hence,  for  I  am  sure  he  will  have  justified  his 
promise. 

Here  we  are  at  the  highway,  with  an  open  gate, 
which  you  and  I,  Polly,  will  soberly  go  through.  But 
Dick  has  no  idea  of  using  a  gate  when  there  is  a  stone 
wall  to  jump,  and  Punch  to  carry  him  over  it.  I  hope 
you  are  not  tired  of  walking.  There  is  no  gait  in  the 
saddle  to  be  compared  to  a  good  walk.  It  is  a  pity  to 
have  to  hurry  for  exercise.  Road  riding  should  be  a 
lazy  luxury,  and  on  a  walk  one  can  converse  so  much 
better  than  on  any  other  gait.  There  are  hundreds  of 
things  I  want  to  tell  you,  but  I  shall  have  to  wait  for 
another  day.  Both  Dick  and  you  have  good  firm  seats, 
and  I  fancy  your  hands  will  become  gradually  lighter. 
There  is  one  test  both  of  good  hands  and  a  mouth  well 


42  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

bitted  which  you  should  keep  in  mind,  for  these,  you 
see,  mutually  depend  on  each  other. 

If  your  horse  will  stop,  back,  and  turn  handily  and 
quickly  and  without  boring — that  is,  without  giving  a 
dull,  heavy  pull  on  the  bit — both  his  mouth  and  your 
hands  are  properly  light.  But  whenever  your  horse 
bores,  something  is  wrong.  A  light-mouthed  horse 
may,  in  galloping,  or  when  very  fresh,  want  to  work 
up  to  the  bit  with  taut  reins,  but  the  least  indication 
will  arch  his  neck  and  make  the  bits  play  loosely  in 
his  mouth.  What  I  mean  by  boring  is  the  stupid,  un- 
intelligent, stiff-necked  hold  of  the  bit  which  nine  out 
of  ten  horses  always  show.  In  this  condition  you  can 
convey  no  meaning  to  them  except  by  sheer  muscle. 
All  skill  is  thrown  away.  The  horse's  bits  should  be 
handled  as  delicately  as  the  instrument  which  sends 
the  telegram  along  the  wires.  In  fact,  the  reins  and 
bits  are  only  for  just  such  messages.  How"  to  "make" 
a  horse's  mouth  I  will  tell  you  some  other  time.  It  is 
a  long  story. 

And  here  we  are  back  home.  You  may  now  learn 
to  dismount  in  good  form.  You,  Polly,  hand  your  whip 
to  the  groom  who  holds  your  horse's  head ;  Dick  will 
release  your  foot  from  the  stirrup ;  you  can  then  take 


IN   THE    SADDLE.  43 

your  knee  from  off  tlie  pommel,  so  that  you  sit  square 
across  the  horse;  seize  your  skirts  in  your  hands  so 
that  you  will  not  catch  in  them ;  Dick  will  place  his 
hands  on  your  waist  or  under  your  elbows,  and  you 
can  glide  to  the  ground  as  lightly  as  may  be.  There, 
that  is  well  done.  Some  ladies  prefer  to  place  their 
right  hand  on  the  pommel,  and  give  their  left  to  the 
gentleman  who  dismounts  them,  and  with  the  short 
skirt  of  the  day  this  is  not  a  bad  plan.  The  main 
thing  is  to  land  lightly  and  clear  of  your  saddle,  and 
not  to  trip  on  your  skirt. 

And  now  let  me  thank  you  for  a  very  pleasant  ride, 
Miss  Polly,  and  you,  Dick,  too,  and  say,  not  good-by, 
but  au  revoir  ! 


IV. 


In  my  last  article  1  promised  to  tell  you  how  to 
"make"  a  horse's  mouth.  If  you  have  ridden  several 
of  the  average  ponies,  or  if  your  Don  has  not  an  excep- 
tionally good  mouth,  you  have  probably  been  often 
annoyed  by  a  habit  of  hard  pulling  on  the  bit.     Now 


44  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

colts  uniformly  have  soft,  "sweet"  mouths.  Pulling  or 
boring  is  the  result  of  bad  training  or  bad  manage- 
ment. Under  some  circumstances  it  is  considered  by 
many  an  advantage  to  have  a  horse  pull.  Trotters 
who  have  to  be  steadied  to  keep  them  from  breaking 
into  a  gallop  may  perhaps  be  better  for  a  reasonably 
hard  mouth.  Hunters  who  "take  hold  of  you"  are 
often  preferred  by  rough  riders,  or  by  those  who  like 
to  support  themselves  a  trifle  by  the  rein ;  and  for  any 
but  a  very  skillful  rider  this  may  not  be  altogether 
amiss,  for  a  severe  jerk  on  a  very  soft  mouth  might 
often  get  both  horse  and  rider  into  a  peck  of  trouble  in 
a  ticklish  place.  And  it  it  is  just  these  places  where 
one's  seat  gets  unsteady  and  one's  hands  are  apt  to 
jerk.  But  the  ideal  saddle-horse,  for  road  or  park 
riding,  must  have  a  perfect  mouth,  for  a  horse  cannot 
be  trained  to  an3^  extent  unless  his  mouth  has  been 
made  as  sensitive  as  your  finger-tips. 

A  colt  properly  broken  will  always  keep  the  sweet 
mouth  Dame  Nature  gave  him,  and  even  the  very 
worst  mouths  can  by  skill  and  patience  be  made  soft 
and  good.  To  tell  you  how  to  do  this  in  the  very  best 
way  would  require  a  small  volume;  indeed,  hundreds 
of  books  have  been  written  on  the  subject.     But  I  can 


IN   THE    SADDLE.  45 

perhaps  give  you  in  a  few  words  a  hint  or  two  which 
will  be  helpful  if  you  will  study  what  I  say  so  as  to 
understand  it.  Remember,  however,  that  unless  your 
seat  is  so  firm  that  your  hands  are  light,  you  cannot 
possibly  give  a  horse  a  soft  mouth. 

Suppose  now  you  stand  at  Don's  near  shoulder,  and 
taking  hold  of  the  curb  reins  at  the  withers,  give  a 
steady,  gentle  pull.  Don  may  attempt  to  back,  but 
you  must  check  this  inclination  with  the  voice.  The 
pressure  of  the  curb  chain  will  soon  make  him  bring 
down  his  head,  open  his  mouth,  and  arch  his  neck.  As 
soon  as  he  does  this,  pat  and  caress  him,  and  in  a 
second  or  two  release  the  rein,  and  let  him  have  his 
head  a  moment  to  rest.  Try  the  same  thing  again 
and  again,  very  gradually  keeping  the  neck  arched  a 
bit  longer  each  time,  but  never  so  long  as  to  tempt 
him  to  resist,  which  he  will  do  by  pulling  on  the  bit,  or 
throwing  up  his  head,  or  backing. 

So  long  as  he  champs  the  bit  and  seems  comfortable, 
keep  on  at  this  drill  for,  say,  about  half  an  hour  a  day. 
In  a  week  or  two  you  will  find  that  Don  will  arch  his 
neck  at  the  slightest  indication  of  the  bit,  and  keep  it 
arched  for  a  long  time  without  fatigue.  When  he  does 
this  easily,  try  the  same  thing  for  a  few  days  mounted 


46  RIDING,   DRIVING,   FENCING. 

and  standing.  And  later  still  go  through  the  exercise 
for  a  week  or  two  while  Don  is  walking.  Never  try 
to  force  his  mouth;  coax  him  with  hand  and  voice; 
and  never  keep  him  at  it  long  enough  to  tire  him  so 
that  he  will  hang  on  the  curb,  for  this  will  surely 
spoil  his  mouth: 

After  some  weeks  you  will  find  that  Don  will  keep 
his  neck  arched,  his  mouth  open,  and  a  light  hold  of 
the  bits  at  any  gait.  This  is  what  we  call  "in  hand." 
At  first  you  had  better  alternate  between  keeping  him 
"in  hand"  and  letting  him  carry  his  head  his  own  way, 
so  as  not  to  weary  him  too  much.  And  if  your  hands 
are  light,  and  you  do  not  jerk  or  worry  him,  you  will 
be  surprised  to  see  what  a  soft  mouth  Don  is  acquiring. 
The  same  thing  can  now  be  accomplished  with  the 
snaffle-bit,  but  in  lieu  of.  a  steady  pull  you  may  have  to 
give  little  gentle  jerks  on  the  rein  till  Don  opens  his 
mouth  and  arches  his  neck. 

The  next  thing  to  teach  him  is  to  bring  his  head 
around  to  the  right  or  left  without  moving  his  feet. 
Stand  at  his  near  shoulder,  take  hold  of  the  left  curb 
rein  with  your  left  hand  not  far  from  the  bit,  and  with 
your  right  hand  gently  pull  the  right  rein  across  his 
withers  so  as  to  coax  him  to  move  his  head  toward  his 


IN    THE    SADDLE. 


47 


right  shoulder.  So  soon  as  he  does  this  a  little,  caress 
him  and  release  his  head.  Try  again,  and  by-and-by 
you  will  find  that  Don  will  bring  his  head  well  round 
to  his  side,  with  arched  neck  and  champing  bit.  Then 
do  the  same  thing  on  the  other  side,  and  by-and-by  in 
the  saddle,  standing  still.  All  these  exercises  supple 
his  neck  and  help  to  make  his  forehand  light,  as  I  will 


From  Harper's  Young  People.  Copyrleht,  1836,  by  Harper  &  Brntbera. 

A  FIVE-MILE   GAIT. 

soon  explain  to  you.  I  have  often  taught  my  horses 
to  put  their  heads  around  in  this  way  by  holding  out 
to  them  a  bit  of  sugar  or  apple  on  my  toe  when 
mounted.  But  this  fails  to  teach  them  what  the  pres- 
sure of  the  bit  means. 

After  this  simple  fashion,  by  patient  and  intelligent 


48  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

instruction  for  a  few  weeks,  Don  will  have  learned  to 
open  his  mouth,  arch  his  neck  to  the  bit,  and  hold  his 
head  in  any  desired  position  at  will.  Now  what  is  the 
good  of  all  this?  you  will  very  naturally  ask.  Well,  to 
begin  with,  the  horse  that  will  open  his  mouth  will 
rarely  lean  on  the  bit;  and  if  he  learns  that  the  little 
gentle  jerks  of  the  snaffle  or  pull  of  the  curb  mean  that 
you  want  him  to  open  it,  he  will,  with  every  horse's 
natural  tendency  to  obedience  as  well  as  to  avoid  the 
pressure,  be  almost  sure  to  do  so.  By  the  drill  above 
described  the  horse  learns  to  so  hold  his  head  that  his 
bits  will  rest  easily  in  his  mouth,  and  if  you  will  not 
pull  on  him,  neither  will  he  on  you.  It  is  not  to  be 
supposed  that  a  horse  likes  the  pain  which  is  given  by 
pulling  on  a  bit;  he  has  simply  imagined  from  his 
trainer's  or  owner's  management  that  he  was  required 
to  do  so.  He  will  be  delighted  to  find  out  his  mis- 
take. 

More  important  still  is  the  effect  which  this  soften- 
ing of  the  mouth  produces  in  his  action.  You  have  all 
noticed  how  heavy  in  his  movements  a  horse  who  hugs 
his  bit  is  apt  to  be.  He  may  be  fast  and  courageous, 
but  he  is  not  well  balanced.  Now  just  as  soon  as  a 
horse  learns  to  hold  his  head  in  a  light  and  easy  way, 


IN"   THE    SADDLE. 


49 


this  lightness  is  communicated  to  his  entire  forehand, 
or  that  part  in  front  of  the  saddle,  and  he  instinctively 
exerts  himself  to  become  quick  and  handy  in  his  gait. 
This  is  much  the  same  thing  as  you  would  do  if,  instead 
of  carrying  a  heavy  bundle,  you  should  walk  along 
balancing  a  stick  on  your  finger.   The  one  effort  would 


From  Harper's  Young  People. 


Copyright.  18S6,  by  Harper  i  Brothers. 


OVER  THE   WALL. 

make  you  heavy  and  awkward;  the  other  would  oblige 
you  to  be  light  and  spry.  And  thus  the  second  effect 
of  Don's  learning  to  come  "in  hand"  is  to  make  his 
whole  forehand  light  and  active. 

You  may  again  ask.  Of  what  use  is  it  to  teach  a 
horse  all  these  things  ?  The  answer  is  because  all  this 
training  makes  a  horse  obedient  as  well  as  clever,  and 


50 


RIDING,   DRIVING,   FENCING. 


renders  him  so  tractable  and  docile  that  often  the  most 
nervous  and  high-strung  thorough-bred  may  be  safely 
intrusted  to  the  weak — if  skilful — hands  of  a  woman 
to  manage,  and  because  any  training  which  enables  us 
to  control  so  strong  an  animal  by  the  use  of  the  least 
muscular  force  must  of  necessity  be  good. 


CifU^i'-?K?^\LE--?~^ ' 


riuoi  Uurpor'i  Kuuujj  People.  Copyright,  18S6,by  Harper  A  Brothers 

SAFE  THROUGH  A   "BULLFINCH." 

If  you  have  ever  seen  a  lot  of  fine  horses  let  out  from 
the  stable  into  a  pretty  pasture,  you  will  have  seen  how 
very  proudly  they  bear  themselves,  and  what  beautiful 
steps  and  gambols  they  execute.  Under  saddle  they 
will  not  do  any  of  these  things  if  trained  by  the  usual 
method.  Nor  must  the}^  ever  be  allowed  to  do  so  of 
their  own  volition,  because  they  and  their  riders  would 


IN    THE    SADDLE.  51 

be  all  too  apt  to  part  company  if  they  suddenly  took  it 
into  their  heads  to  "lark"  a  bit.  But  by  the  high- 
school  training  a  horse  may  be  taught  to  do  all  these 
things,  and  more,  at  the  will  of  his  rider ;  and  they  are 
not  only  very  beautiful  in  the  performance,  but  to  learn 
them  makes  the  horse  extremely  light  and  docile. 

Now,  while  Don  has  been  learning  how  to  come  "  in 
hand"  properly,  you  may  have  noticed  that  he  has  car- 
ried his  head  a  trifle  too  low.  To  correct  this  you  can 
raise  your  hands  somewhat ;  and  whenever  a  horse  gets 
his  head  too  high,  the  hands  should  be  lowered. 

Having  thus  taught  Don  to  come  ^4n  hand,"  you 
want  to  go  back  to  what  I  told  you  about  the  croup 
flexions,  so  as  to  teach  him  to  "collect"  himself.  You 
will  have  already  trained  Don  to  move  his  croup  away 
from  the  spur  a  step  or  two  to  the  right  or  left ;  and 
you  will  now  gradually  teach  him  to  move  one  or  two 
steps  of  the  hind-feet  to  the  right,  and  then  at  once 
back  again,  without  having  moved  his  forefeet.  He 
will  soon  learn  this ;  and  you  will  notice  that  he  is  apt 
to  first  move  the  foot  on  the  side  to  which  you  applv 
the  spur.  This  has  another  use,  of  which  anon.  Now, 
as  I  hinted  in  my  second  article,  teach  him,  by  gently 
closing  both  heels  upon  him,  to  bring  his  hind-feet  a 


52 


RIDING,   DRIVING,   FENCING. 


From  Harper's  Yonng  People.  Copyright,  18S6,  t>y  Uurper  &  iiroiuers. 

THE   CROUPADE. 

trifle  more  under  the  saddle  than  he  usually  holds 
them,  and  without  moving  his  forefeet.  In  this  posi- 
tion, with  head  "in  hand,"  he  will  be  "collected,"  as 
we  call  it;  i.  e.,  light  forward,  and  with  his  hind-legs 
where  they  can  quickly  sustain  the  entire  weight  if 
necessary,  and  respond  to  your  call  for  any  step  or 
action.  This  "collected"  condition  may  be  kept  at  any 
gait,  and  is  what  enables  one  to  control  a  horse  thor- 
oughly. 


IN   THE   SADDLE. 


53 


From  jlarper's  YooDg  Peopla.  Copyright,  1886,  by  H&rper  &  Brotbers. 

THE   CAPRIOLE. 

About  the  walk  and  trot  there  is  much  more  to  be 
said ;  but  I  must  leave  these  gaits  to  your  own  discre- 
tion, in  order  to  tell  you  a  few  things  about  the  canter. 
You  have  no  doubt  noticed,  or,  if  not,  then  watch  him 
until  you  do  notice,  that  Don  sometimes  canters  with 
one  shoulder  in  the  lead  (i.  e.,  thrown  forward  further 
and  later),  and  sometimes  with  the  other ;  and  that  if 
he  turns  to  the  right  when  cantering  he  is  apt  to  change 
to  a  lead  with  the  right  shoulder  in  advance,  if  not 


5.4  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

already  so  leading.  This  is  a  natural  thing  for  the 
horse  to  do,  but  it  will  be  useful  to  teach  Don  to  lead 
as  you  wish.  This  you  may  accomplish  by  cantering 
him  round  in  a  circle  to  the  right,  all  the  while  keep- 
ing your  left  heel  near  his  flank.  He  will  by  nature 
lead  with  the  right  shoulder,  and  will  gradually  get  to 
associate  vour  left  heel  with  his  ridit  lead.  After  a 
few  days  canter  him  in  a  circle  to  the  left,  with  your 
right  heel  near  his  flank;  and  later  in  a  figure  8,  with 
alternate  heels  pressed  in  as  he  is  about  to  make  the 
turns. 

If  you  want  Don  to  start  into  a  canter  from  a  stand 
or  walk  or  trot,  with  right  lead,  you  apply  the  left  heel 
in  the  same  way  at  the  moment  you  lift  your  reins  to 
make  him  take  that  gait.  There  are  two  reasons  for 
this :  one,  that  he  has  got  to  associate  your  left  heel 
with  his  right  lead,  and  the  other,  that  your  left  spur 
inclines  to  make  him  advance  that  hind-foot  first,  as  I 
above  told  you;  and  if  he  starts  the  canter  with  the  left 
hind-foot  he  will  be  leading  with  the  right  shoulder. 
When  you  have  studied  the  anatomy  and  motions  of  the 
horse  as  closely  as  I  have  you  will  understand  this  bet- 
ter. Every  step  of  a  horse  has  to  be  understood  before 
you  can  undertake  to  train  him  to  an  exceptional  de- 
gree of  intelligence. 


IN    THE    SADDLE.  55 

When  you  have  discreetly  followed  out  what  I  have 
told  you  I  am  sure  that  you  will  have  all  become  excel- 
lent riders  for  boys  and  girls.  You  will  have  a  good 
seat;  your  hands  are  light;  Don  can  walk,  trot,  and 
canter  well  "collected,"  and  can  start  with  either  lead, 
or  change  lead  in  the  canter;  he  can  take  a  few  side 
steps  with  forehand  or  croup  at  will;  and  he  can  jump 
handily.  He  is  already  much  further  advanced  than 
most  horses,  and  well  prepared  for  almost  any  work. 
If  you  want  to  study  the  art  further,  I  shall  be  glad  to 
tell  you  more  about  it. 

I  will  now  say  something  to  you  about  the  illustra- 
tions. Forty  years  ago  it  required  nearly  five  minutes 
to  take  a  daguerreotype;  ten  years  ago  it  took  half  a 
minute  for  a  photograph.  But  you  have  all  heard  that 
photography  has  advanced  to  such  an  extent  that  a 
picture  can  to-day  be  taken  instantaneously,  in,  say, 
the  thousandth  part  of  a  second,  or  even  less.  By  this 
process  we  get  a  faithful  picture  of  an  animal  moving. 
All  the  illustrations  of  this  article,  except  the  "Crou- 
pade  "  and  "  Capriole,"  are  exact  copies  of  such  photo- 
graphs. The  first  is  my  dear  old  horse  Patroclus, 
whom  I  am  glad  to  introduce  to  you,  ambling  a  five- 
mile  gait  along  the  road.     Nothing  but  the  rider's  face 


66  RIDING,   DRIVING,   FENCING. 

has  been  changed.  I  have  put  this  in  to  show  you 
what  a  good  position  in  the  saddle  should  be.  This  is 
just  right,  and  as  it  is  exactly  reproduced  from  life, 
will  show  you  that  a  man  may  practise  what  he 
preaches.  The  next  is  the  same  horse  clearing  a  wall. 
Notice  the  seat,  the  rider  leaning  well  back  and  per- 
fectly close  and  secure,  and  the  reins  loose  but  well  in 
hand.  Again  we  have  old  Pat,  carrying  his  rider  safe 
through  a  bullfinch,  as  we  call  a  hedge  overgrown  with 
young  trees.  I  give  you  this  to  show  you  the  side 
view  of  the  seat  in  a  jump.  The  foot  might  perhaps 
be  thrown  a  trifle  further  back,  but  the  seat  is  firm, 
and  Pat  is  well  in  hand  for  landing.  Notice  how  he 
has  tucked  up  his  hind-legs,  and  how  he  is  gradually 
straightening  his  fore-legs  so  as  to  land  safely  on  one 
after  the  other,  first  the  left  and  then  the  right,  to  be 
followed  in  quick  order  by  the  same  hind-legs. 

These  three  photographs  are  from  a  series  which 
were  taken  for  me  by  Baldwin  Coolidge,  of  Boston, 
as  I  rode  Patroclus  over  some  obstacles  at  my  country 
home,  and  along  my  driveway. 

The  other  two  pictures  show  some  of  the  "airs" 
which  by  haute  ecole,  or  high-school  training,  a  horse 
may  be  made  to  perform.     In  the  "Croupade,"  the 


IN    THE    SADDLE.  57 

horse,  at  the  will  of  his  rider,  springs  high  into  the  air, 
tucks  all  his  feet  close  up  under  him,  and  comes  down 
in  the  same  place  wdth  all  four  feet  at  once.  A  suc- 
cession of  "Croupades"  makes  a  very  brilliant  show, 
and  you  can  hardly  imagine  the  delicate  condition  to 
which  a  horse  must  be  trained  in  order  to  execute  at 
will  this  very  difficult  feat,  and  to  understand  by  the 
bit  and  heels  just  what  his  rider  wants.  For  there  are 
a  great  many  of  these  "airs,"  all  differing  one  from 
the  other.  The  "Capriole"  differs  from  the  "Crou- 
pade"  only  in  that  while  in  the  air  the  horse  lashes  out 
with  his  hind-feet  held  close  together;  and  though  he 
looks  as  if  he  was  making  a  twenty-foot  leap,  he  will 
actually  come  down  not  more  than  twelve  inches  in 
advance  of  where  he  rose  from  the  ground. 

As  I  told  you  before,  there  is  no  particular  utility  in 
these  "  airs  "  per  se,  but  the  course  of  training  by  which 
the  horse  learns  them  makes  him  very  tractable,  and  to 
know  how  to  teach  him  to  perform  these  requires  a 
very  high  degree  of  horsemanship.  Now  horsemanship 
is  the  profession  of  some  men,  such,  for  instance,  as 
cavalry  soldiers.  Have  you  ever  seen  two  men  fencing? 
If  so,  you  have  noticed  how  very  exact  and  skilful  a 
man  has  to  be  in  order  to  cut,  thrust,  and  parry  well. 


58  RIDING,   DRIVING,   FENCING. 

and  how  his  position  on  the  ground  must  be  as  perfect- 
ly balanced  as  a  rope-dancer's  to  do  his  work.  The 
cavalryman  has  to  use  his  weapon  in  the  saddle,  and 
you  will  see  that  unless  he  can  instantly  shift  his 
horse  into  such  positions  that  he  is  firm  in  the  saddle 
and  that  the  saddle  is  in  just  the  right  place  to  enable 
him  to  deliver  his  cut  or  thrust,  or  parry  his  enemy's, 
he  cannot  fight  to  advantage.  And  it  is  only  by  such 
a  course  of  training  as  I  have  hinted  at  that  horse  and 
rider  can  be  educated  to  do  this  work  to  perfection.  It 
is  related  of  Guardsman  Shaw  that  in  a  cavalry  mMee 
at  the  battle  of  Waterloo  he  disabled  more  than  twenty 
French  horsemen  before  he  was  himself  wounded  by  a 
bullet.  This  was  the  result  of  very  great  skill  both  as 
a  swordsman  and  a  rider,  and  it  cannot  be  doubted  that 
his  trooper  was  as  highly  trained  as  himself. 


DRIVING. 


DRIVING.' 


TTT  is  desirable,  if  we  are  to  talk  on  the  subject  of 
driving,  for  us  to  have  a  nag.  I  understand,  Dick, 
that  you  still  own  that  capital  saddle  pony  Don,  whom 
we  have  ridden  and  chatted  about  so  much.  I  have 
forgotten  whether  you  ever  put  Don  into  the  shafts. 
Yes  ?  If  he  had  not  been  broken  to  harness  he  would 
be  wanting  in  a  highly  desirable  accomplishment. 
While  a  saddle-horse,  pure  and  simple,  is  doubtless  the 
highest  type,  he  is  not  as  useful  as  what  they  call  in 
Kentucky  a  "combined  horse,"  i.  e.,  one  that  can  be 
both  ridden  and  driven.  It  is  rare  that  a  pony  is  not 
broken  to  drive ;  and  once  taught,  though  he  may  get 
rusty  and  be  a  bit  fidgety  when  he  has  not  been  har- 

*  Published  in  Harper's  Young  People,  1887,  and  reprinted  by  permission 
of  Messrs.  Harper  &  Brothers. 


From  Harper's  Young  People.— Copy- 
rixfat,  1881,  by  Harper  M  Brothers. 


62  RIDING,   DRIVING,   FENCING. 

nessed  for  many  raontlis,  he  will  not  forget  his  early 
lessons,  and  with  kindness  and  good  sense  will  drop 

Nea"r.ReiH      iii^o  his  old   habit 
very  readily. 

Let  me  give  you 
a  hint   about   har- 
nessing  him.     Try 
and   do   it   all    by 
Fig.  1.  yourself,   unless 

Don  is  very  green.  There  are  two  reasons  for  this. 
First  you  want  to  know  that  every  strap  is  sound  and 
properly  adjusted,  for  you  are  risking  your  precious 
bones  on  its  strength;  and  second,  Don  will  be  less 
fidgety  with  one  person  about  him  than  with  several. 
A  nervous  horse  must  get  so  excited  at  seeing  a  lot 
of  people  about,  who  are  ceaselessly  shouting  Whoa, 
and  acting  in  an  unusual  manner,  that  he  will  get  all 
wrought  up,  and  cannot  keep  quiet ;  whereas  if  only 
one  person  was  about,  who  spoke  to  him  in  a  reassur- 
ing tone,  and,  giving  him  the  familiar  pat,  went  about 
the  business  in  a  business-like  way,  he  would  stand  like 
a  sheep  till  his  master  mounted  the  box,  picked  up  the 
reins,  and  spoke  to  him.  A  horse  gets  flurried  quicker 
than  a  man,  because  he  cannot  reason ;  but  when  he  has 


/ 


DRIVING.  63 

found  that  he  can  rely  on  you  to  reason  for  him,  and 

that   your    kind 

voice      really 

means       tliat 

everything  is  all 

right,     he     will 

take   your   word 

for  it  every  time. 

iN  OW    let    us     go  From  Harper  8  Youdk  Cenole Copyrieht 

1887,  by  Hari.er  <S  Brothere.  ' 

to  work  from  the  yig.  2. 

beginning.  Walk  up  to  Don's  stall  with  a  friendly 
word,  pat  him  gently  on  the  flank  to  make  him  move 
so  as  to  give  you  room  to  go  in,  and  as  you  reach  his 
head  stroke  his  face  or  ears  to  make  him  feel  the 
friendship  you  really  have  for  him.  It  is  a  good  plan 
to  have  a  slice  of  carrot  or  a  little  salt  or  sugar — the 
least  bit  will  do — just  to  tickle  his  palate.  He  has 
been  standing  all  alone  for  hours,  remember,  and  this 
little  attention  will  not  be  lost  upon  him.  I  have 
cured  horses  of  kicking  as  you  entered  their  stalls  by 
letting  them  expect  something  to  eat.  In  watching 
for  the  tidbit  they  quite  forgot  the  trick.  Unhitch 
Don's  halter  and  back  him  out  to  the  floor.  Let  him 
have  just  a  mouthful  of  water.     Then  pick  up  each  of 


From  Harper's  Yoans;  Peorle.— Copy, 
right,  1387,  by  Harper  4  Brotheri. 


64  RIDING,   DRIVING,    FENCING. 

his  feet  to  clean  them  out  and  to  see  that  the  hoofs 
and  shoes  are  in  good  order.  If  you  do  this  in  a  coax- 
ing way,  he  will 
soon  get  in  the 
habit  of  himself 
lifting  each  foot 
for  3'ou,  so  that 
you  only  have  to 
steady  it.  All 
this  is  of  course 
properly  the 
^^^-  ^-  work     of     the 

groom ;  but  a  man  who  wants  his  horses  well  cared  for 
must  know  how  and  be  able  to  do  these  things  himself, 
even  if  he  does  not  very  often  put  his  knowledge  into 
practice.  There  is  another  use  in  this :  a  horse  may 
get  a  stone  in  his  foot  on  the  road,  and  if  he  is  awk- 
ward with  his  feet,  you  may  have  a  deal  of  trouble  in 
getting  it  out,  A  stone  bruise  may  produce  serious 
lameness. 

Don  has  probably  been  groomed,  so  that  all  that 
remains  to  be  done  is  to  smooth  down  his  coat  with  a 
cloth,  and  he  is  ready  to  harness.  First,  we  take  down 
the  collar  or  breastplate,  and  pass  it  over  his  head  and 


DRIVING. 


65 


into  place.  Tlie  breastplate  goes  on  easily;  if  you  use 
a  collar,  unless  Don's  head  is  very  small,  you  should  re- 
move the  hames,  and  perhaps  open  the  collar  a  trifle  at 
the  broadest  part,  so  that  putting  it  on  shall  not  hurt 
him.  By  coax- 
ing you  will  soon 
get  him  to  put 
his  head  down 
and  help  you 
push  the  collar 
on.  A  pat  on 
the  nose  after  it 
is  done  will  make 
him  like  to  do  it.  ^"""  mT^y^^'rl's^l^l^r^'"'' 
In     putting     on  ^^^-  ^• 

the  hames  be  sure  you  get  them  even  and  well  strapped 
into  place.  Loose  hames  may  be  very  dangerous. 
Next  comes  the  bridle.  This  also  requires  Don  to  put 
down  his  head.  Be  sure  no  one  ever  raps  him  over 
the  head.  This  is  the  way  horses  get  to  jerking  away 
from  the  bridle. 

Stand  on  his  left  side,  with  the  bridle  in  the  left 
hand ;  pass  the  check-rein  over  his  head ;  pat  his  cheek ; 
seize  the  forelock  in  your  right   hand,  and  hold  the 


66  RIDING,   DRIVING,    FENCING. 

bridle  by  the  top  with  the  same ;  put  the  bits  in  Don's 
mouth  with  the  left ;  gather  the  forelock  with  the  left, 
and  slip  the  head-piece  up  over  the  ears  with  the  right; 
smooth  out  the  hairs  and  buckle  the  throat-latch.  This 
is  a  horsemanlike  way  to  do  it.  The  rest  of  the  har- 
ness is  simple  enough  to  put  on.  Buckle  the  belly- 
band  tight  enough  to  keep  the  saddle  in  place,  especial- 
ly if  you  have 
a  cart  harness 
without  breech- 
ing. The  back 
strap  should  not 
be  too  long,  nor 
short  enough  to 
^^^-  ^-  make   the    crup- 

per gall.  Your  reins  had  best  go  in  the  cheek.  Unless 
Don  pulls  worse  than  I  expect  he  does,  j'ou  do  not 
need  the  curb,  and  while  a  horse  may  be  made  to  work 
in  higher  style  by  its  use,  he  is  not  as  steady  for  a  new 
hand,  and  the  necessity  which  calls  for  it  under  saddle 
is  not  present  in  harness. 

Now  back  Don  up  near  the  shafts.  Some  people 
back  the  horse  into  them ;  but  there  is  always  a  risk  of 
his  stepping  on  one.     A  better  way  is  to  put  a  crutch 


From  Harper's  Younjr  People.— Cop j-right,  l88T,by 
Harper  &  Brothers. 


DRIVING. 


67 


Prom  Harper's  Young:  People. Copyright, 
1881,  by  Harper  &  Brothera. 

Fig.  6. 


under  the  whiffle-tree  bar  and  back  Don  into  place, 
and  then  let  down  the  shafts ;  or,  yet  better,  to  hold 
them  up  and 
teach  him  to 
back,  at  your 
word,  into  place. 
As  I  said  before, 
Don  should  be 
so  quiet  during 
all  this  as  to 
make  it  perfect- 
ly easy  for  you  to  do  the  whole  thing  single-handed. 
You  cannot  always  have  some  one  to  help  you.  Of 
course  if  Don  had  never  been  in  harness  before,  or  had 
been  long  unharnessed,  you  might  have  to  go  to  work 
more  deliberately,  and  require  some  help. 

If  you  have  a  two-wheeled  cart,  you  must  have  your 
shaft  lugs  and  band  so  loose  as  to  allow  the  shafts  to 
play  up  and  down  on  a  balance.  Your  cart  seat  should 
be  so  placed  that  when  you  sit  on  it  the  balance  is  per- 
fect. It  is  easier  for  man  and  beast  to  have  the  shafts 
tilt  up  rather  than  weigh  down.  The  usual  cart  jolts 
badly  if  you  buckle  the  shafts  close,  and  it  will  irritate 
Don's  back.     In  fact,  a  good  cart  harness  should  have 


68  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

the  lug  strap  play  over  and  through  the  saddle,  so  as 
to  yield  an  inch  from  side  to  side. 

If  you  use  a  four-wheeler,  the  shafts  should  have 
only  a  little  play.  Don  can  be  hitched  nearer  to  a 
cart  than  a  buggy,  because  the  shafts  are  higher,  as  a 
rule,  and  the  whiffle-tree,  if  any,  is  further  under. 
But  there  must  be  enough  room  to  prevent  anything 
from  running  on  him.  Your  breeching  will  hold  the 
carriage  back,  but  you  must  leave  it  loose  enough  to 
prevent  wearing  off  the  hair.  You  would  not  like  to 
ride  Don  if  he  showed  harness  galls.  Let  your  shafts 
hang  so  that  they  do  not  pinch  on  the  trace  buckles ; 
for  this  will  not  only  wear  both,  but  make  bare  spots 
on  Don's  shoulders  as  well.  If  you  use  a  check-rein — 
which  I  wouldn't  do  if  I  were  you — let  it  be  a  loose 
one.  The  only  good  in  a  check-rein  is  to  prevent  a 
horse  from  kicking  or  from  getting  his  head  too  low 
when  left  alone,  and  thus  catching  it  in  something. 
Some  people  think  a  check  will  prevent  his  stumbling. 
So  it  will,  just  about  as  much  as  you  can  pull  yourself 
up  by  your  boot  straps — not  an  atom  more. 

Now  that  you  are  all  harnessed  and  ready  to  start, 
open  the  door.  Don't  let  Don  get  excited  and  eager  to 
start.     If  he  does,  shut  and  open  it  several  times  to 


DRIVING.  69 

teach  him  that  the  mere  opening  of  the  door  is  no  sig- 
nal for  him.  When  he  learns  to  stand  perfectly  un- 
concerned, with  the  door  wide  open  before  him,  give  a 
pull  at  the  cart  or  buggy  as  if  you  were  getting  in,  and 
while  doing  so  take  a  look  at  your  running-gear.    Find 

out  when  it  was 
oiled.  Wheels 
ought  to  be  oiled 
for  every  fifty 
miles   run.     But 

From  Harper's  Young  People. — CopjTight,  1887, by  Harper  &  Brothtri.  Vpp'p    VOUr    PVP  OV\ 

^'''-  ^-  Don  if  he  is  apt 

to  make  a  sudden  start.  However  safe  on  the  road, 
Don  would  be  dangerous  if  he  would  not  let  you  get 
in  and  out  quietly.  And  when  you  are  on  the  road  it 
is  well  to  draw  up  to  one  side  occasionally  and  get  out. 
Not  a  bad  plan  is  to  give  Don  a  nibble  of  grass  or  a 
leaf  from  your  hand  before  starting  again.  It  recon- 
ciles him  to  stopping  and  standing  in  out-of-the-way 
places. 

Everything  is  ready.  Pick  up  your  reins.  Don't  let 
Don  start  yet.  Until  you  draw  them  up  and  speak  to 
him  he  must  not  budge.  Many  a  neck  has  been  broken 
by  an  otherwise  perfectly  reliable  horse  that  was  over- 


70  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

eager  to  start.  Now  as  to  your  seat.  The  word  '^  seat " 
applies  properly  to  riding;  but  the  driver  must  be  so 
placed  that  his  position  on  the  box  is  firm  and  com- 
fortable, that  he  has  his  feet  braced  so  as  to  be  able  to 
exert  his  whole  strength  in  a  direct  pull,  and  that  his 
arms  are  perfectly  free.  Well,  here  we  are,  all  tucked 
in  and  comfortable.  Draw  up  your  reins,  and  give  a 
chirrup,  or  a  "Come,  boy!"  and  off  we  move.  Hold 
hard,  my  young  friend !  Always  start  at  a  walk  for  a 
few  steps,  till  you  find  everything  all  right.  We  will 
go  fast  enough  by-and-by. 

There  are  numerous  ways  of  holding  the  reins.  Let  us 
take  one  way  at  a  time,  leaving  the  whip  for  the  nonce 

in  the  socket. 
First,  place  the 
near  rein  over 
the  index  finger 
of  the  left  hand, 
the   off   rein  be- 


From  Harper's  Young  People. — Copyright,  1887,  by  Harper  &  Brothen. 

Fig.  8. 


tween  the  middle  and  third  fingers,  the  two  falling 
downward  through  the  grasp,  thumb  upward  (Fig.  1). 
By  bringing  the  thumb  backward  toward  the  body, 
you  can  draw  the  near  rein;  by  bringing  the  little 
finger  backward  toward  the  body,  the  off  rein.     When 


DRIVING.  71 

you  want  to  use  both  hands,  place  the  mdex  and 
thumb  of  the  right  hand  over  the  off  rein,  and  give  a 
pressure  as  distinct  as  necessary  (Fig.  2);  or  if  you 
want  entirely  to  remove  the  off  rein  from  the  left 
hand,  seize  it  between  index  and  middle  fingers,  and 
let  the  end  pass  down  through  the  grasp.  To  replace  it 
in  the  left  hand,  slide  the  right  hand  back  on  the  rein 
until  you  can  readily  do  so  (Fig.  3),  or  else  shift  the 
rein  into  the  right  hand  between  the  thumb  and  index 
(Fig.  4),  and  then  place  the  left  hand  in  advance  of 
the  right,  and  seize  with  left  as  shown  in  Fig.  1. 

Second,  off  rein  over  index,  near  rein  under  index, 
both  passing  out  between  third  and  little  finger  (Fig.  5). 
When  wishing  to  use  both  hands,  take  up  off  rein 
over  index  of  right  hand,  and  passing  out  under  third 
(Fig.  6),  to  be  replaced  when  desired.  Third,  near  rein 
under  little  finger,  off  rein  between  little  and  third, 
passing  upward,  and  held  by  thumb  (Fig.  7).  Pick  up 
with  right,  as  in  Fig.  6. 

These  three  are  what  might  be  called  artistic  or 
coachman-like  ways  of  holding  the  reins,  and  each 
has  its  advantages.  I  greatly  prefer  the  first,  because 
one  can  shift  hands  so  much  more  quickly :  many  con- 
sider the  second  the  best;  the  third  does  not  give  you 


72  KIDING,    DRIVING,   FENCING. 

as  much  strength  as  the  others.  There  are  still  other 
ways.  Many  excellent  drivers  have  ways  of  their  own. 
There  is  a  manner  of  holding  the  reins  in  one  hand, 
which,  though  I  fancy  it  is  the  farmer's  style,  and  may 
provoke  a  smile,  is  yet  one  of  the  best  I  know  for  driv- 
ing a  single  horse.  Near  rein  under  little  finger  and 
up  over  thumb ;  off  rein  over  index  and  under  thumb ; 
both  crossing  and  grasped  in  the  hand  (Fig.  8).  This 
keeps  the  reins  well  apart,  enables  you  to  exert  a  bet- 
ter pull  on  either  by  the  turn  of  the  wrist,  and  can  be 
quite  as  readily  shortened  as  the  above  second  and 
third  methods. 


II. 


Now,  Dick,  we  can  start  into  a  trot.  Draw  up  your 
reins  a  trifle,  for  w^hen  a  horse  walks  he  takes  a  longer 
rein  than  when  he  is  moving  rapidly.  Chirrup  to  him, 
and  Don  will  be  only  too  glad  to  brighten  up  his  gait. 
Hold  your  whip  hand  close  to  your  rein  hand,  so  that 
at  any  minute  you  can  use  both.  Have  you  not  often 
seen  a  man  with  a  rein  in  each  hand,  and  his  hands 


DRIVING.  73 

almost  up  to  his  ears,  trying  to  pull  in  his  fresh  or 
frightened  nag,  and  utterly  helpless?  When  a  horse  is 
jogging  along,  in  a  matter-of-fact  way,  he  has  perhaps 
twelve  inches  more  rein  than  when  he  is  prancing  or 
feeling  pretty  bright.  The  only  way  to  take  up  this 
slack  is  to  use  your  hands  as  I  have  explained  to  you. 
You  are  at  your  horse's  mercy  if  your  hands  are  wide 
apart  and  in  the  air;  nor  have  you  any  strength  in 
your  arms  for  a  direct  pull. 

Now  as  we  jog  along  at  this  eight-mile  gait,  suppose 
you  practise  shifting  your  hands.  Keep  the  whip  in 
the  socket.  You  are  holding  the  reins  as  in  Fig.  1. 
Now  put  your  right  hand  in  front  of  your  left,  and 
grasp  them  as  shown  in  Fig.  4.  Then  place  your  left 
hand  again  in  front  of  your  right,  seizing  the  reins  as 
in  Fig.  1,  and  you  will  have  shortened  your  hold  as 
much  as  you  need.  Now  let  the  reins  slide  successively 
through  each  hand,  so  as  to  shift  slowly  several  times. 
Occasionally  hold  them  in  the  right  hand  for  a  mo- 
ment, and  leave  the  left  hand  free.  You  may  be  called 
on  to  use  your  left  hand  some  time  for  another  pur- 
pose. 

When  you  feel  at  home,  practise  all  this  with  the 
whip  in  your  hand.     It  is  well  to  shift  thus  from  time 


74  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

to  time  whenever  you  are  driving.  It  trains  your 
hands,  and,  better  still,  keeps  Don's  mouth  lively  when 
done  with  a  delicate  touch.  There  is  nothing  more 
annoying  than  a  horse  who  takes  a  dull  heavy  hold  of 
you  and  never  varies.  In  driving,  a  nice  light  mouth 
is  almost  as  essential  as  in  riding. 

Whenever  Don  is  startled  or  shies,  you  will  have  to 
shorten  rein  as  I  have  told  you.  Don't  whip  him.  If 
he  makes  but  a  slight  start,  you  need  only  put  your 
right  hand  on  the  reins  in  front  of  the  left  for  a  mo- 
ment, so  as  to  shorten  without  shifting  your  left.  It  is 
when  your  reins  are  quite  too  long,  or  when  Don  is 
misbehaving  or  is  really  frightened,  that  you  need 
shorten  up  by  a  new  hold.  After  shying,  or  when 
trotting  fast,  Don  may  break  into  a  canter.  This  it 
is  well  to  check,  as  only  a  trot  is  allowable  between 
the  shafts.  A  steady  hand  and  voice  is  all  that  is 
required ;  or  if  this  does  not  suffice,  pulling  his  head 
to  one  or  other  side  alternately.  No  need  to  do  this 
violently.-  There  is  still  another  way  to  shorten — by 
taking  hold  of  the  reins  back  of  the  left  hand  and 
drawing  them  through  as  far  as  you  want  them ;  but  a 
horse  often  starts  so  quickly  that  this  is  too  slow  a 
way  to  check  him. 


DRIVING.  75 

Here  we  come  to  a  down-grade.  Don  is  sure-footed, 
so  that  you  need  do  no  more  than  steady  him  and  slow 
up  his  gait  a  trifle.  A  regular  stumbler  in  a  cart  is  too 
-dangerous  to  drive.  In  a  buggy  he  cannot  do  so  much 
harm  even  if  he  does  come  down,  but  in  a  cart  he  may 
throw  you  over  the  dasher.  Some  people  always  let  a 
horse  walk  downhill  and  hold  back  in  the  breechinsr. 
This  is  a  mistake  with  a  sure-footed  horse.  It  wearies 
him  as  much  to  hold  back  downhill  as  to  draw  his  load 
uphill.  If  he  is  reliable  you  gain  a  good  deal  by  letting 
him  go  down  ordinary  hills  at  a  fair  pace. 

An  up  and  down  hill  road,  if  the  hills  are  not  too 
steep  and  long,  is  much  easier  than  a  perfectly  level 
road ;  because  a  horse  brings  into  play  different  mus- 
cles going  up  and  down,  and  on  a  flat,  level  road  he 
constantly  uses  but  one  set.  There  used  to  be  a  great 
test  of  this  on  the  Hudson  River.  There  was  the  coun- 
try road  running  along  the  river-bank,  up  and  down 
hill;  and  in  winter-time,  when  the  river  was  frozen, 
there  was  a  road  on  the  ice.  The  ice  road  was  of 
course  entirely  flat,  and  much  shorter  than  the  country 
road,  for  the  hills  and  windings  added  considerably  to 
the  distance.  And  yet  of  two  equally  good  horses,  one 
travelling  fifty  miles  between  towns  on  the  ice,  and  the 


76  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

other  along  the  hilly  road,  the  latter  always  came  in 
sooner  and  fresher. 

So,  then,  let  Don  jog  down  the  hill,  keeping  your 
reins  and  eye  ready,  and  when  he  gets  nearly  to  the 
bottom,  if  there  is  an  up-grade  near  ahead,  cheer  him 
with  a  word,  and  let  him  get  the  impetus  of  the  wagon 
to  carry  him  up  a  part  of  the  slope.  In  this  way  an  en- 
ergetic horse  will  often  get  half-way  up  a  hill  before  he 
comes  back  into  a  walk.  What  a  good  walker  Don  is! 
There  is  no  gait,  under  saddle  or  in  harness,  so  impor- 
tant. A  busy  walker  is  allowed  to  wall^  a  great  part  of 
his  journey;  but  we  get  so  vexed  with  a  slow  one  that 
we  keep  him  trotting  nearly  all  the  time.  A  lazy  walker 
is  not  worth  owning  even  if  he  is  a  "forty"  horse. 

Did  you  ever  hear  the  old  saw  ? 

"Uphill,   huiTy   me  not; 
Downhill,   flurry   me   not ; 
Ou  tlie  level,   spare  me  not ; 
In   the   stable,   forget   me   not." 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  horse-sense  in  it.  My  grand- 
father used  to  tell  me  that  verse  when  I  was  a  little 
boy.  The  first  line  means  that  in  dragging  a  load  up- 
hill you  ought  to  let  Don  take  his  time;  and  if  it  is  a 
very  long  or  steep  hill,  stop  once  or  twice  at  some 
place  where  you  can   run  the  wheel  back  against  a 


DRIVING.  77 

stone,  or  into  one  of  the  drain  gullies  in  the  road,  so 
as  to  ease  his  shoulders  in  the  collar.  Or  if  you  can- 
not do  this,  stop  him  and  turn  his  head  across  the 
road,  so  as  to  take  the  weight  off  him  and  let  him  get 
his  wind  again.  The  "downhill,  flurry  me  not,"  is  just 
what  I  have  been  telling  you  about.  Let  Don  do  his 
work  at  a  natural  gait,  but  don't  interfere  too  much 
with  him.  Merely  keep  an  eye  on  the  road  and  him. 
^*  On  the  level,  spare  me  not,"  however,  does  not  mean 
that  you  are  at  liberty  to  push  a  horse  beyond  his  en- 
durance, but  merely  that,  on  a  good  road,  you  can  spin 
along  occasionally.  And  remember  that  the  driver's 
first  duty  is  to  constantly  keep  his  eyes  out  for  any- 
thing in  the  road  which  might  be  dangerous  for  the 
wagon  to  run  over  or  the  horse  to  step  on,  or  for  any 
object  which  might  be  apt  to  frighten  him. 

Now  about  the  use  of  the  whip.  I  prefer  the  Ameri- 
can style  for  one  horse  or  a  pair.  Grasp  it  firmly  in 
the  right  hand  six  inches  above  the  butt,  and  hold  it 
at  an  upward  angle  across  j^our  body,  inclining  it  out 
a  trifle  toward  the  dasher.  This  prevents  your  striking 
your  neighbor  with  it.  You  must  learn  to  handle  tlie 
reins  as  well  with  as  without  the  whip ;  and  when  you 
have  used  it  on  your  horse,  you  must  be  ready  to 


78  EIDING,    DRIVING,   FENCING. 

shorten  rein  or  use  both  hands  at  once.  If  your  team 
is  a  lively  one,  it  is  well  to  gather  in  your  reins  before 
using  your  whip. 

You  ask  which  is  the  easier,  a  cart  or  a  buggy. 
Well,  that  depends  on  roads  a  good  deal .  A  cart  takes 
a  deal  of  pulling  uphill  if  it  is  a  heavy  one.  On  level, 
good  roads  it  bowls  along  easily.  The  wheels  are 
larger,  which  makes  traction  lighter,  and  there  are 
only  two  wheels,  which,  if  the  axles  are  good,  reduces 
the  friction  materially.  But  the  roads  must  be  in  ex- 
cellent condition  for  a  cart.  On  bad  roads  a  four- 
wheeler  is  preferable.  After  all  said,  there  are  few 
vehicles  as  good  as  an  American  buggy,  or  as  well 
adapted  to  our  country  roads.  The  light  road-wagon 
of  one  of  our  best  makers  is  distinctly  the  finest  piece 
of  carriage-building  in  the  world,  and  will  stand  harder 
usage  for  its  weight  than  any  other  thing  that  runs. 
The  only  fault  of  an  American  buggy  is  that  you  must 
cramp  the  wheel  to  get  in  and  out,  and  that  it  does 
not  turn  as  short  as  a  cart  or  a  four-wheeler  whose 
front  wheels  run  under. 

And  now  about  gait.  Some  people  like  to  drive  one 
steady,  plodding  trot.  Nothing  tires  a  horse  more.  An 
occasional  walk,  varied  by  a  lively  spurt  for  a  mile  or 


DRIVING.  79 

SO,  gets  over  a  distance  faster  and  with  less  effort.  By 
spurts  I  do  not  mean  putting  the  horse  at  the  top  of 
his  speed.  That  always  tires  him  quickly.  Speed 
takes  more  out  of  a  horse  than  distance.  But  a  seven 
or  eight  mile  trot — whatever  is  the  horse's  own  natural 
gait — with  a  walk  and  a  bit  of  a  spurt  now  and  then, 
is  a  variety  which  is  better  than  a  constant  seven-mile 
plod. 

Here  we  come  to  a  watering-trough,  and  Don  looks 
over  toward  it  as  if  he  would  like  a  mouthful.  Never 
fear,  it  won't  hurt  him.  He  is  not  hot,  and  even  if  he 
were,  a  little  water  won't  harm  if  you  move  him  right 
on  after  drinking.  But  never  water  and  let  a  horse 
stand,  unless  he  is  quite  cool.  You  may  founder  him 
else.  Nor  is  very  cold  water,  such  as  comes  from  a 
well,  good  at  any  time  if  a  horse  is  warm.  But  run- 
ning or  trough  water  is  rarely  dangerous,  unless  you 
let  3^our  nag  drink  too  much  or  stand.  If  you  water 
every  ten  or  twelve  miles  on  a  warm  day,  it  is  about 
right. 

Now  Don  is  so  easy  a  pony  to  drive  that  you  would 
not  learn  all  about  managing  a  more  stubborn  or  rest- 
less horse  by  merely  driving  him.  Nor  do  I  propose 
to  tell  you  about  the  tricks  of  brutes,  or  how  to  break 


80  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

colts.  These  are  out  of  our  line.  If  a  horse  is  apt  to 
pull,  you  must  use  either  the  curb  bit  or  some  bit  on 
which  he  will  not  lean.  Sometimes  a  leather  bit  or  a 
rubber-covered  steel-spring  bit  answers  the  purpose,  for 
it  is  so  yielding  that  it  is  difficult  for  him  to  get  a  hold 
against  it.  But  a  light  curb  with  a  light  hand  is  best. 
The  curb  chain  should  not  be  too  tight.  A  puller  will 
lean  part  of  the  time  on  this,  but  whenever  he  stops 
pulling,  as  he  will  from  time  to  time,  by  a  coaxing 
movement  of  the  hand  and  a  word  or  two,  you  can  get 
him  to  understand  that  he  is  doing  what  you  want. 
Few  horses  will  take  hold  of  the  curb  and  pull  steadily. 
If  Don  were  a  runaway,  you  might  be  obliged  to  drive 
him  constantly  on  the  curb.  What  I  told  you  about 
"  making  "  Don's  mouth  under  saddle,  is,  within  restric- 
tions, applicable  to  driving.  By  means  of  the  curb  you 
may  make  a  horse  lighter  and  more  active. 

One  thing,  Dick,  you  must  be  very  particular  about: 
keep  Don's  mouth  even.  Few  things  more  entirely 
spoil  the  comfort  of  driving  a  good  horse  than  his  pull- 
ing on  one  rein.  I  used  to  own  a  nag  whose  mouth 
was  so  one-sided  that  you  could  drive  him  with  a  sin- 
gle rein  by  pulling  or  slacking  upon  it.  Sometimes 
this  fault  makes  a  horse  hold  his  head  on  one  side; 


DRIVING.  81 

sometimes  only  the  driver  is  aware  of  the  habit.  Such 
a  mouth  is  almost  always  made  by  a  bad  bit,  which 
galls  one  side,  and  makes  it  callous,  or  else  by  the 
driver  pulling  unevenly  on  the  reins,  till  the  horse 
acquires  the  habit.  You  must  be  sure  in  driving  that 
you  hold  the  reins  with  an  equal  tension,  or  else  you 
will  certainly  end  in  giving  Don  a  one-sided  mouth. 

In  this  country  we  turn  out  to  the  right  on  meeting 
a  team,  and  pass  a  slower  one  by  driving  to  its  left. 
In  England  they  turn  out  to  the  left,  and  pass  to  the 
right,  which  is  better.  A  man  sits  on  the  right  of  the 
box-seat,  so  that  his  whip-arm  may  be  free,  and  being 
on  that  side,  he  can  watch  his  wheels  and  drive  much 
closer  to  a  team  he  is  meeting  if  he  turns  out  to  the 
left  than  if,  as  we  do,  he  turns  to  the  right. 

Will  Don  back  quickly  and  handily?  This  is  a  very 
necessary  accomplishment,  especially  if  you  drive  in  a 
buggy,  which  can  be  turned  in  a  narrow  space  only  by 
backing.  A  great  many  people  never  practise  this,  and 
I  have  known  a  man  to  drive  miles  out  of  his  way  to 
find  a  place  wide  enough  to  turn  around,  when  by  back- 
ing he  could  turn  anywhere.  Did  you  ever  try  it? 
Suppose  you  want  to  turn  your  buggy  about  to  the  left 
in  a  narrow  lane.    Simply  turn  Don's  head  to  the  right, 


82  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

SO  as  to  cramp  the  right  wheel,  and  then  back  as  far  as 
is  convenient.  You  will  then  find  that  the  position  of 
the  buggy  is  square  across  the  road,  so  that  you  can 
turn  very  readily  by  moving  Don  to  the  left.  In  doing 
this,  remember  that  a  horse  cannot  step  sidewise  very 
rapidly.  His  shoulder  has  only  limited  side  action. 
Give  him  time. 


III. 


And  now  let  us  see  what  we  can  do  double  with 
your  Don  and  Polly's  new  pony  Peggy.  They  are 
pretty  much  of  a  size  and  disposition.  And  a  horse 
that  drives  single  kindly  will  almost  always  drive 
double  as  soon  as  he  gets  started.  Stand  them  up, 
Don  on  the  off  side,  and  let  us  take  a  look.  No;  they 
will  work  better  the  other  way.  Peggy,  j^ou  see,  is 
just  a  bit  higher  at  the  quarter,  and  carries  her  head, 
you  remember,  if  anything,  a  trifle  higher  than  Don. 
She  ought  to  go  on  the  off  side,  because  all  roads,  in 
order  to  shed  water,  are  made  to  slope  from  the  centre 
toward  each  gutter,  and  thus  the  off  horse  is  sure  to  be 


DRIVING.  83 

on  lower  ground,  except  when  you  are  driving  exactly 
in  the  middle  of  the  road.  I  think  Don  and  Peggy 
will  carry  their  collars  almost  the  same  height,  and 
they  both  carry  their  tails  out  pretty  well.  Nothing 
looks  worse  than  to  see  one  nag  of  a  pair  carry  his  tail 
close  and  the  other  well  out.  You  can  equalize  the 
heads  to  a  certain  extent  with  check-reins,  but  the  tails 
you  must  leave  to  themselves. 

It  doesn't  take  long  to  put  on  the  harnesses.  Now 
stand  them  in  place  on  each  side  of  the  pole.  We  are 
going  to  drive  to-day  in  a  phaeton  which  has  a  pole  and 
yoke.  With  the  heavy  running-gear  of  cities,  where 
the  roads  are  all  very  flat  and  good,  a  pole  works  just 
as  well  with  a  crab  instead  of  a  yoke.  The  horses  are 
hitched  closer  together,  and  perhaps  a  crab  is  stronger 
than  a  yoke.  Still,  down-hill  it  is  always  a  one-sided 
performance  for  each  horse.  The  yoke  on  the  pole  has 
a  twofold  use.  The  horses  can  be  put  apart  or  near 
together  as  you  like,  and  when  they  hold  back  it  is  a 
direct  pull  on  their  collars.  And  on  the  country  roads, 
which  are  not  always  good,  it  is  easier  for  horses  to  be 
well  apart.  Each  can  do  his  work  with  less  jar  of  the 
pole,  and  in  speeding  is  much  more  free.  For  a  dis- 
tance at  a  fine  gait  over  country  roads  there  is  nothing 


84  HIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

equal  to  a  Goddard  buggy  and  a  good  pair  of  roadsters, 
harnessed  a  V  Americaine.  I  do  not  think  any  part  of 
the  world  affords  as  much  ease  to  man  and  beast  alike. 
Another  thing  about  our  poles  is  that  they  always  have 
whiffle-trees  instead  of  splinter-bars.  The  whiffle-tree 
equalizes  the  draught  on  the  collar,  even  if  the  traces 
are  not  exactly  of  a  length,  which  when  they  begin  to 
stretch  with  use  they  never  are.  A  splinter-bar  is  apt 
to  make  the  collar  gall  the  shoulder,  for  it  has  no  play. 
Buckle  your  straps  so  that  the  yoke  will  be  pretty 
close  to  the  collar,  and  pass  the  strap  through  the 
collar  first  and  then  through  the  ring.  I  never  like  to 
rely  on  the  hames  alone  in  a  hilly  country.  Get  your 
traces  tight  enough  not  to  have  much  slack.  There — 
that  will  do.     Now  for  the  reins. 

This  is  the  most  important  part.  I  often  wonder 
how  people  can  drive  a  pair,  and  M^hip  up  one  horse  all 
day  long,  when  it  is  not  the  poor  nag's  laziness,  but 
his  short  rein,  that  keeps  him  back.  Almost  any 
two  horses  can  be  made  to  work  evenly  by  proper  rein- 
ing. Notice  what  the  reins  are.  Each  horse  has  his 
own,  which  goes  into  the  outside  ring  of  his  bit.  On 
each  of  these  reins  is  buckled,  half-way  down,  the 
coupling-rein,  which  connects  him  with  the  other  horse 


DRIVING.  85 

by  going  into  the  inside  ring  of  the  latter's  bit.  Thus 
Don's  coupling-rein  is  buckled  into  Peggy's  rein  and 
Peggy's  into  Don's.  Each  direct  rein  has  a  number  of 
holes,  so  that  the  coupling-rein  can  be  made  longer  or 
shorter.  If  both  are  made  shorter  by  buckling  them 
back  on  the  direct  rein  toward  the  driver,  you  see  that 
this  will  get  the  horses  nearer  together,  and  if  made 
longer  by  buckling  them  away  from  the  driver,  this 
will  spread  the  horses.  If  the  horses  work  and  carry 
their  heads  quite  alike,  the  coupling-reins  will  go  in 
the  same  hole.  But  few  horses  are  alike,  and  in  the 
adjustment  of  the  coupling-reins  lies  more  than  half 
the  secret  of  making  a  pair  work  together.  The  traces, 
almost  always,  should  be  in  the  same  holes. 

Let  me  see  how  it  is  with  Don  and  Peggy.  If  I 
remember  rightly,  Don  arches  his  neck  a  little  more 
than  Peggy,  and  has,  perhaps,  a  shorter  one.  This 
brings  his  bit  nearer  to  you,  and  I  should  think  that  he 
would  need  his  coupling-rein  at  least  one  hole  shorter 
than  Peggy's.  We  will  start  that  way.  You  never 
can  tell  just  how  a  new  pair  will  work  until  after  j^ou 
have  driven  some  distance.  Let  us  get  in  and  start. 
Perhaps  each  may  be  a  trifle  awkward  at  first,  but  they 
are  both  kind,  and  will  work  all  right  in  half  a  mile. 


86  RIDING,    DRIVING,   FENCING, 

Pick  up  the  reins  in  the  same  way  as  for  a  single 
horse  (Fig.  1),  and  take  your  whip  in  your  hand,  for 
one  or  other  may  not  start  just  right.  Now  speak  to 
them,  and  off  they  move  as  straight  and  steady  as  if 
they  were  used  to  it.  In  a  little  while  we  can  tell 
how  the  reins  work.  We  guessed  pretty  nearly  right. 
But  I  think  the  ponies  are  perhaps  a  little  too  far 
apart.  Suppose  you  get  out  and  buckle  back  the  coup- 
ling-reins one  hole  each.  Now  you  see  that  they  are 
about  right  in  this  particular.  Don  is  a  little  excited, 
and  unless  he  calms  down  pretty  soon  we  shall  have  to 
take  him  up  a  hole  more. 

Here  we  come  to  a  hill.  Let  them  walk,  and  we 
shall  see.  Look  at  your  whiffle-tree  bar.  You  notice 
that  Don's  end  is  forward  all  the  time.  Now  the  ponies 
ought  to  work  so  that  the  bar  is  even.  When  we  get 
to  the  top  of  the  hill  we  will  stop  and  take, Don  in. 
Peggy,  you  see,  is  working  well  up  to  the  bit,  but  Don 
is  still  ahead.  Take  him  in  one  hole  more;  or,  if  you 
like,  let  out  Peggy  one  hole.  This  amounts  to  the 
same  thing,  except  that  it  will  spread  them  that  much 
more.  They  are  quite  as  close  as  they  should  be  in  a 
light  team.  I  do  not  like  horses  to  be  harnessed  very 
closely,   except   in  a  coach.     And   remember   always 


DRIVING.  87 

that  Don's  buckle  is  on  Peggy's  rein,  and  Peggy's  on 
Don's. 

As  we  start  you  see  that  the  ponies  are  now  work- 
ing about  right.  They  walk  pretty  evenly.  This 
is  the  most  important  gait.  Almost  any  horses  can  be 
made  to  trot  fairly  together,  but  it  is  rare  that  a  pair 
will  walk  with  slack  rein  so  that  each  is  drawing  half 
the  load.  A  pair  of  horses  that  can  walk  four  and  a 
half  miles  an  hour,  even  if  they  cannot  road  more  than 
eight,  are  a  positive  prize.  Sometimes  an  otherwise 
good  horse  is  a  poor  walker,  and  will  let  his  mate  do 
double  work.  The  only  way  is  to  buckle  one  back,  and 
to  keep  the  other  up  to  the  bit  by  the  whip.  Two 
slugs  are  much  to  be  preferred  for  comfort  in  driving 
to  one  slug  and  one  ambitious  horse.  And  you  cannot 
manage  your  horses  unless  you  make  both  work  up  to 
the  bit.  One  of  a  pair  poking  along  on  a  loose  rein 
while  the  other  is  well  up  to  the  bit  makes  a  sorry 
show. 

You  want  to  be  careful  about  holding  your  reins.  All 
that  I  told  you  about  driving  single  applies  to  a  pair. 
Don't  let  the  ponies  pull  on  you,  nor  yet  leave  the  reins 
too  slack.  There  is  something  in  what  we  call  style 
which  is  valuable.     It  generally  means  expertness.    To 


88  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

drive  a  pair  of  lively  horses  and  appear  quite  at  your 
ease  is  no  mean  accomplishment.  There  is  a  good  deal 
in  preparing  the  horses.  One  that  has  been  suppled  as 
if  for  the  saddle,  and  that  is  driven  on  a  light  curb,  is 
apt  to  be  much  more  agreeable  than  one  that  takes  a 
dead  hold  and  plods  on  like  a  mule.  Not  that  I  recom- 
mend you  to  use  the  curb.  Wait  till  you  can  drive 
well  on  the  snaffle.  It  will  be  time  enough  then  to  be- 
gin. Mind,  I  am  not  speaking  to  you  about  trotters 
when  I  mention  pulling  on  the  curb.  I  refer  only  to  the 
ordinary  roadster.  A  good  pair  want  to  be  up  and 
about  their  business.  Not  that  you  need  to  drive  them 
fast ;  but  whether  walking  or  going  a  seven  or  a  twelve- 
mile  gait,  they  want  to  be  doing  it  all  the  time. 

I  presume  that  you  will  turn  this  corner  to  the  right, 
and  go  round  by  the  mill.  As  you  approach  it,  gather 
up  your  reins,  take  plenty  of  room,  and  tap  your  nigh 
horse  gently  to  make  him  step  up  a  bit  more  briskly, 
for  he  has  the  outside  and  further  to  go.  Never  take 
a  corner  too  fast,  and  unless  you  can  see  ahead,  take  it 
slowly,  lest  some  one  else  should  be  coming  round  the 
other  way.  If  it  is  a  corner  to  the  left,  keep  to  the 
right  side  of  the  road.  You  are  liable  for  damages  if 
you  are  on  the  other  side  and  anything  happens. 


DRIVING.  89 

A  driving  horse,  to  be  safe,  must  know  that  he  has 
a  whip  behind  him,  and  what  it  means;  else  in  an 
awkward  place  he  may  swerve  or  attempt  to  turn 
round.  But  you  must  be  chary  of  using  it.  It  is  only 
for  occasional  application.  After  a  horse  gets  used  to 
being  whipped,  this  all-essential  aid  loses  its  effect. 
You  want  the  whip  to  be  such  a  rarity  that  the  horse 
will  dread  the  least  reminder  of  it.  There  is  a  certain 
lively  way  of  holding  and  moving  the  reins  which 
comes  with  practice,  and  which  constantly  shifts  the 
bits  in  the  mouths  of  the  horses  and  keeps  them  cheer- 
ful, that  does  a  good  deal  more  than  the  habitual  use 
of  the  whip.  The  whole  science  of  driving  a  pair, 
apart  from  discretion  as  to  gait,  lies  in  keeping  the 
horses  evenly  at  work. 

Here  comes  a  carriage  driving  rapidly  toward  us. 
Just  touch  the  right  rein  with  the  whip  hand  (Fig.  2). 
It  needs  no  violent  exertion  if  your  horses'  mouths  are 
nice.  The  less  apparent  exertion,  the  more  neatly  you 
will  drive.  Turn  out  as  much  as  the  road  allows  you. 
You  are  entitled  to  half,  but  it  is  well  to  run  no  risks. 
Your  team  might  shy  at  the  critical  moment,  or  the 
other  might.  Never  drive  close  just  to  show  how  good 
a  whip  you  are ;  that  is  a  silly  feat.     With  a  pair,  as  a 


90  RIDING,   DRIVING,   FENCING. 

rule,  whatever  your  horses  can  go  through,  your  car- 
riage can.  With  one  horse  you  must  take  more  room. 
On  a  narrow  country  road  you  must  be  careful  not  to 
drive  into  the  gutter,  and  it  is  always  better  to  pull 
down  to  a  walk  than  run  the  slightest  risk  of  a  smash 
or  a  turnover. 

Hold  your  hands  a  trifle  nearer  your  body.  To  ex- 
tend the  arms  too  much  is  bad  form.  And  from  time 
to  time  shift  the  reins,  as  I  have  explained  to  you,  so 
as  to  keep  each  hand  in  the  habit  of  coming  to  the 
other's  assistance.  The  manner  of  holding  the  reins 
shown  in  Figs.  1,  2,  3,  and  4  I  consider  the  best  in 
driving  double.  The  farmer's  plan  (Fig.  8),  while  good 
single,  is  not  very  effective  in  driving  a  pair. 

Ahead  of  us  is  a  load  of  wood  drawn  by  oxen,  which 
we  must  pass.  Take  it  very  carefully.  The  driver 
will  not  be  able  to  turn  out  much  for  you,  as  we  are 
going  so  rapidly.  Watch  to  see  that  there  is  room 
enough  on  his  left,  and  that  the  road  is  clear.  As  you 
are  sitting  where  you  can  see  your  off  wheels,  3^ou  will 
not  get  too  close.  Watch  your  horses.  They  some- 
times shy  at  oxen.  There — that  will  do.  If  a  car- 
riage were  coming  toward  3  ou  so  as  to  reach  this  team 
at  the  same  time  as  yourself,  you  should  wait.     The 


DRIVING.  91 

other  man  is  entitled  to  the  road,  unless  there  is  plenty 
of  room  for  both.  And  always  turn  out  cheerfully  for 
a  faster  team  than  your  own  to  pass  you.  This  is  one 
of  the  necessary  courtesies  of  the  road. 

And  now  a  word  about  what  we  call  style.  Only 
the  genuine  article  is  style.  The  imitation  is  like  a 
paste  diamond.  Style  in  driving  does  not  consist  in 
owning  a  fashionable  ^'rig,"  but  in  handling  it  prop- 
erly. The  rig  is  well  worth  having ;  but  if  you  cannot 
"  tool "  it  well,  you  had  much  better  drive  a  po'shay. 
If  you  will  watch  the  most  stylish  men  on  the  box,  you 
will  see  that  a  great  part  of  their  so-called  style  is 
strictly  first-class  performance,  and  to  this  extent  style 
is  highly  desirable.  Many  of  the  niceties  of  matching 
horses  so  that  they  will  step  together,  or  of  training 
them  to  coach-work,  you  need  care  nothing  for.  But 
to  handle  a  pair  so  as  to  get  safety,  distance,  and  speed 
out  of  them,  without  tiring  them  or  you,  is  a  great 
thing  to  learn.  And  only  attention  to  the  best  rules 
and  constant  practice  will  teach  it  to  you. 


THE  HORSE'S  MOTIONS  AS 
REVEALED  BY  PHOTOGRAPHY. 


THE  HORSE'S  MOTIONS  AS  REVEALED  BY 
PHOTOGRAHPY.n 


"A  /TOST  people  know  what  the  rhythm  of  a  horse's 
feet  sounds  like ;  but  no  one  before  the  publi- 
cation of  Dr.  Stillman's  book  was  ever  able  to  detect 
what  the  most  rapid  action  of  a  horse's  feet  looks  like. 
To  Gov.  Leland  Stanford,  of  California,  belongs  the 
honor  of  first  solving  the  problem;  and  the  results, 
most  interesting  in  themselves,  upset  many  of  the  art- 
ideas,  as  shown  in  equestrian  delineations,  of  twenty 
centuries.  A  number  of  cameras  were  arranged  and 
electrically  operated  under  such  conditions  that  a  horse 
passing  them  at  any  pace  would  have  one  or  more 

*  The  Horse  in  Motion.  As  shown  in  a  Series  of  Views  by  Instanta- 
neous Photography.  With  a  Study  on  Animal  Mechanics.  By  J.  D.  B. 
Stillman,  M.  D.,  A.  M.  With  a  Preface  by  Leland  Stanford.  Boston  :  J. 
R.  Osgood  &  Co. 

t  Published  in  The  Dial,  1882. 


96  RIDING,   DRIVING,    FENCING. 

strides  photograplied  twenty-four  times  at  intervals  of 
one  horizontal  foot.  The  pictures  thus  show  every 
position  of  the  legs  and  body  during  the  stride  with 
unerring  accuracy;  and  the  twenty-four  successive 
silhouettes,  placed  on  a  single  plate,  give  the  clue  to 
the  mechanical  action.  Anatomical  dissection  com- 
pletes the  demonstration.  Dr.  Stillman  has  spread  these 
results  before  the  public,  and  analyzes  the  anatomy  and 
mechanism  of  the  horse  so  cleverly  that  the  beautiful 
harmony  of  action  in  each  gait  is  shown  as  perfectly  as 
Mr.  Corliss  could  explain  his  steam  engine. 

The  run,  for  instance,  is  divided  into  five  periods, 
during  four  of  which  the  weight  of  the  body  is  sus- 
tained and  propelled  by  each  foot  successively,  and 
during  the  fifth  period  the  body  is  in  the  air.  Merely 
to  state  this  fact  at  once  explains  to  any  one  who  has 
ridden  a  thoroughbred  in  his  great  stride  the  peculiar 
1-2-3-4-pause  rhythm  of  his  feet  upon  the  ground.  To 
understand  just  how  the  legs  bear  and  further  the 
weight  of  the  body,  requires  study  of  the  plates.  Two 
or  three  things  only  can  be  mentioned.  In  the  fifth 
period,  during  which  all  the  feet  are  in  the  air,  the 
horse  has  his  legs  closely  assembled  under  him,  the 
hind  ones  gathering  to  reach  forward  to  the  ground 


THE  horse's  motions.  97 

first,  the  fore  legs  to  be  thrust  out  to  do  their  work 
later.  This  clearly  shows  why  we  see  the  racer's  legs 
under  him,  and  not  spread-eagle  fashion,  as  in  the 
racing-plates.  The  only  approach  to  the  spread  position 
is  when  one  fore  and  one  hind  foot  are  actually  on  the 
ground.  Again,  the  final  thrust  of  the  body  into  the 
air,  to  enable  the  animal  to  gather,  is  not,  as  has  been 
supposed,  given  by  the  hind  legs,  but  by  one  of  the  fore 
legs.  Percival's  theory  is  that  in  the  run  the  hind 
legs  do  the  propelling,  while  the  fore  legs  merely  sus- 
tain the  fore  parts  of  the  body:  Stonehenge's  theory  is 
that  the  run  is  a  succession  of  leaps.  The  tremendous 
propulsive  power  exerted  by  the  fore  legs  has  never 
been  shown  till  now.  In  these  plates  the  gathered 
positions  of  the  run  are  the  only  ones  which  convey 
the  impression  of  great  speed  and  vigor.  In  the  other 
positions,  even  after  we  accept  them  as  true,  earnest 
search  fails  to  yield  this  idea,  though  a  part  of  the 
difficulty  is  no  doubt  due  to  the  warping  of  our  minds 
from  long  acceptance  of  false  artistic  types.  All 
gaits  are  successively  illustrated  in  like  manner  as 
the  run,  and  explained  with  great  intelligence  and 
clearness, — careful  contrast  being  drawn  between  the 
gaits  of  the  horse  and  those  of  the  deer,  hounds,  bul- 
locks, and  even  pigs. 


98  HIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

Dr.  Stillman  is  a  little  hard  upon  the  artists :  we  feel 
like  saying  a  word  in  their  defence.  That  they  have 
erred  greatly  in  some  things,  particularly  in  represent- 
ing the  run — which  has  needed  something  quicker  than 
the  human  eye  to  catch — is  true;  but  that  they  have 
erred  in  all,  is  far  from  correct.  Perhaps  Dr.  Stillman 
does  not  mean  us  to  infer  so  much.  In  the  attempt  to 
convey  the  idea  of  a  great  pace  they  have  forced  the 
racer  into  an  impossible  position.  But  artists  are  not 
unteachable.  They  will  doubtless  soon  change  to  cor- 
rect drawing.  The  idea  of  the  trot  has  been  fairly 
caught  by  them;  and  that  they  have  given  us  the  cor- 
rect view  of  the  prancing  horse  is  shown  in  several  of 
the  positions  in  Plate  XLIV  of  "Phryne  Unsettled." 
On  every  one  of  the  plates  of  the  successive  positions 
of  the  run  and  canter  in  Dr.  Stillman's  book  the  horses 
on  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon  can  be  traced ;  and  in  the 
trotting  plates  there  will  appear  positions  correspond- 
ing to  the  received  idea  of  the  ''2 :  20"  horse,  though 
some  of  the  old  trotting  pictures  approach  correctness 
nearer  than  the  recent,  and  Rosa  Bonheur  comes  near- 
est of  all.  There  are  some  positions  in  which  the 
animal  dwells  longer  than  others, — those  presumably 
in  which  the  muscles  and   tendons  are  not  at  their 


THE  horse's  motions.  99 

greatest  tension;  and  these  are  the  views  the  eye 
catches  while  it  fails  to  catch  the  more  rapid  ones. 
Some  of  the  positions  of  the  horse  in  action,  when 
reduced  to  portraiture,  are  ungainly  to  a  degree. 
While  moving,  the  horse's  limbs  pass  through  these 
stages  with  rapidity.  But  fix  them  on  paper,  and  you 
have  an  effect  quite  different.  The  artist  is  not  bound 
to  reproduce  ugly  lines  when  he  can  find  graceful  ones. 
We  have  all  seen  horses  in  whose  action  no  one  could 
detect  an  ungraceful  movement.  A  series  of  photo- 
graphs of  such  a  horse  would  certainly  show  us  the 
coup  (Toeil  we  delight  to  dwell  upon.  The  horse 
Mohammed,  whose  action  in  a  canter  is  far  from 
handsome,  still  shows  the  successive  positions  which, 
with  the  high  step  of  a  proud  charger,  would  give  us 
the  pleasure  we  speak  of.  Mohammed  is  a  'Maisy- 
cutter,"  as  most  high-bred  horses  are,  and  shows  too 
little  knee-action  for  a  handsome  parade  gait ;  while 
the  cantering  horse  on  Plate  LXVIII  is  painfully  ugly. 
The  one  on  Plate  XCVIII  is  handsomer,  and  has  his 
counterpart  in  many  art  works, — barring  the  rider, 
whose  seat  might  be  vastly  improved.  Some  of  the 
best  of  horses  are  not  handsome  in  action ;  some  of  the 
worst  are.     But  when  beauty  exists,  why  should  the 


100  RIDING,   DRIVING,   FENCING. 

artist  not  select  it,  rather  than  the  no  more  natural 
ugly  gait?  In  "Elaine  trotting"  we  find  Stonehenge's 
"true  trot"  to  a  hair.  In  some  positions  in  every  one 
of  the  trotting-plates  we  trace  the  familiar  action  of 
noted  horses.  In  every  one  of  the  series  there  are 
positions  pleasing  to  the  eye,  and  others  which  offend 
it.  Artists  have  generally  selected  types  of  the  former. 
"Occident  trotting"  shows  scarcely  one  handsome  line, 
however  powerful  his  stride.  "Sharon  single-footing" 
shows  occasional  fine  "artistic"  action.  The  positions 
in  leaping,  owing  to  the  dwelling  in  the  air,  have  been 
better  caught;  but  not  so  the  manner  in  which  the 
horse  stretches  his  hind  legs  in  the  rise,  apparently  to 
get  the  last  ounce  of  power.  While  in  the  air,  just  be- 
fore reaching  terra  jirma,  and  just  before  gathering  his 
hind  legs  under  him  to  take  the  ground  in  support  of 
the  fore  legs,  the  horse  most  nearly  approaches  the 
"  spread-eagle."  In  the  gallop  at  the  obstacle,  as  else- 
where, artists  have  been  quite  at  sea,  but  in  the  rise 
and  in  clearing  it  John  Leech's  admirable  sketches  are 
almost  uniformly  correct.  It  should  be  told,  en  passant, 
that  John  Leech  tried,  thirty  years  ago,  to  draw  gallop- 
ing horses  as  he  had  observed  them,  and  with  a  shrewd 
guess  at  what  Dr.  Stillman  now  proves;  but  he  was 


THE    horse's    motions.  101 

hooted  out  of  his  attempt  because  he  fell  short  of  dem- 
onstration. What  Leech  could  not  do,  Dr.  Stillman 
has  done,  and  thoroughly. 

''The  Horse  in  Motion"  is  issued  in  superb  style. 
The  anatomical  plates  are  of  great  value.  The  paper 
and  letter-press  are  such  as  a  livre  de  luxe  should  boast. 
The  numerous  plates  all  show  great  care.  There  are, 
all  told,  some  1,200  pictures  of  moving  horses. 


THE  RIDING  CLUB. 


THE  RIDING  CLUB.' 


rriHE  English  have  always  been  preeminent  in  all 
out-of-door  sports.  In  every  part  of  the  world, 
wherever  the  Briton  unfurls  the  Union-Jack  and  drinks 
the  Queen's  health,  the  games  and  sports  which  he  "goes 
in  for"  at  home  are  among  the  earliest  habits  to  become 
domesticated.  Even  on  the  sunny  slopes  of  Tennessee 
Rugby,  the  lank,  inactive  native  wondered  at  the  supera- 
bundant energies  of  lawn-tennis;  cricket  has  invaded  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  and  fox-hunting  has  been  made  a 
favorite  recreation  among  the  villas  and  ruins  sur- 
rounding the  Italian  cities.  Indeed,  the  very  language 
of  every  Continental  nation  has  been  Anglicized  by  a 
large  vocabulary  of  sporting  terms.  Those  sports 
which  are  the  outcome  of  British  love  of  horseflesh  are 
the  ones  which  have  gained  the  most  admirers  among 

*  Published  in  Harper's  Weekly,  February,  1883. 


106  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

civilized  communities ;  and  so  strong  is  English  influ- 
ence in  the  matter  of  equestrianism  that  the  officers  of 
most  European  armies  are  in  part  adopting  the  cross- 
country style,  despite  the  fact  that  the  two  arts — mili- 
tary or  manege  riding  and  riding  to  hounds — are 
diametrically  opposed  to  each  other.  It  is  absurd 
enough  to  see  a  mounted  officer,  not  to  speak  of  an 
orderly  carrying  dispatches,  with  dangling  sabre  and 
in  full  uniform,  with  his  feet  "home,"  leaning  over  his 
horse's  withers  and  rising  to  a  trot;  yet  one  may  daily 
witness  this  odd  spectacle  in  France  or  Germany.  For 
the  military  seat  is  the  one  which  enables  a  man  to  use 
his  weapon,  and  keep  his  horse  with  his  one  hand  and 
two  heels  at  all  times  collected  and  ready.  It  is  a  close 
seat  of  sheer  necessity ;  while  the  hunting  seat  is  the  one 
which  gives  the  horse  the  utmost  liberty  to  use  his 
powers  and  intelligence,  and  which  caters  to  his  endu- 
rance by  taxing  him  the  least.  Each  belongs  in  its 
place,  and  is  best  of  its  kind. 

No  doubt  in  this  country  the  love  of  the  horse  was 
fully  inherited  from  our  English  ancestors.  In  the 
South  the  expression  of  this  fondness  kept  to  the  old 
form  of  saddle-work,  owing,  probably,  to  the  always 
execrable  roads.     Until  the  early  part  of  this  century 


THE    RIDING   CLUB.  107 

the  same  was  true  of  the  North.  Just  why  this  superior 
kind  of  exercise  disappeared  in  favor  of  trotting  and 
driving  it  might  be  hard  to  say,  except  that  improving 
roads  enabled  one  horse  to  haul  as  many  as  four  persons, 
whereas  he  could  at  most  carry  two ;  and  that  we  have 
taken  pleasure  in  perfecting  our  admirable  means  of 
locomotion  when  we  had  once  originated  it.  Riding 
had  become  a  lost  art. 

But  the  mother  country  has  reconquered  her  revolted 
children,  and  if  she  cannot  dictate  to  us  in  politics,  she 
is  managing  to  do  so  in  social  matters.  If  she  cannot 
make  our  laws,  she  can  at  least  impose  on  us  her 
grooms,  her  tailors,  and  her  cooks.  Though,  indeed, 
the  dictation  threatens  to  be  modified  by  our  beating 
our  good  cousins  at  their  own  games;  for  surely,  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  we  are  all  but  novices  in  most  of 
the  English  sports,  we  have  captured  more  than  our 
fair  share  of  honors,  from  the  magnificent  sports  of 
yachting  and  racing,  down  to  the  humbler  "one-man" 
running  and  bicycling.  And  it  is  noteworthy  that  not 
only  is  the  Kentucky  horse  to-day  probably  the  finest 
specimen  of  the  thoroughbred  in  the  world,  but  that 
the  stiffest  country  over  which  any  men  hunt  may  be 
found  on  Long  Island,  or  in  Western  New  York  and  the 
vicinity  of  Philadelphia. 


108  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

We  can  well  afford  to  forgive  our  British  friends 
many  an  ill  turn  for  the  sake  of  the  healthful  exercises 
they  have  taught  us.  Among  these  easily  the  first  is 
equestrianism.  And  no  doubt,  for  all  civilian  purposes, 
the  English  style  is  the  best,  and  the  one  upon  which 
those  niceties  of  the  art  which  add  such  a  charm  to  the 
saddle  may  be  most  readily  grafted.  And  we  have 
taken  the  style  up  vigorously  and  done  it  justice.  A 
little  overdoing  of  the  flattery  of  imitation  has,  to  be 
sure,  bred  some  Anglomaniacs  among  us ;  but  the  ma- 
nia needs  no  asylum,  and  the  genuine  article  is  good 
of  its  kind.  A  dozen  years  ago,  in  Northern  parks, 
one  could  hardly  meet  with  a  man  in  the  saddle;  a 
lady  was  a  rara  avis  indeed.  To-day  it  seems  to  be 
the  aspiration  of  every  one  to  bestride  his  steed,  and 
wonderful  are  the  diverse  ailments  which  arise  as  ex- 
cuses for  the  fashionable  exercise. 

In  foreign  cities  there  have  always  been  fine  riding- 
schools  or  maneges.  But  just  such  schools,  though 
they  are  now  many  and  good  in  New  York,  did  not 
suffice  for  the  needs  of  that  class  which  always  does 
things  in  the  handsomest  way.  What  was  started  but 
a  short  time  ago  among  a  few  gentlemen  who  did  not 
want  to  lose   their  exercise  on  rainv  days,  and  who 


THE    RIDING    CLUB.  109 

sought  improvement  by  riding  in  company,  for  whicli 
purpose  they  hired  for  a  couple  of  afternoons  a  week 
the  most  available  riding-school,  has  grown  into  one  of 
the  most  delightful  of  associations,  and  perhaps  the 
finest  club  of  its  kind  in  existence,  as  it  is  certainly 
unique.  The  peculiar  charm  of  the  Riding  Club  is  that 
it  is  essentially  a  family  gathering-place.  The  accom- 
modations for  the  ladies  and  children  are  as  ample  and 
lavish  as  those  for  the  men ;  and  the  boudoirs  and 
baths  on  the  ladies'  side  are  fitted  up  with  a  view  to 
luxury  and  comfort  scarcely  equalled  by  the  smoking 
and  card  rooms  for  the  sterner  sex.  A  generously 
equipped  restaurant  adds  to  the  completeness  of  the 
whole.  The  parlor,  with  its  large  windows  facing  the 
ring,  is  peculiarly  well  devised,  and  the  architectural 
features  of  the  building  are  as  marked  as  its  luxurious 
furnishings.  The  stables  are  large  and  perfectly  kept. 
It  is  a  pleasure  to  walk  through  the  lines  of  stalls  and 
observe  all  that  can  be  done  for  the  health  and  content 
of  our  equine  friends. 

But  the  main  feature  of  the  Riding  Club  is  its  beau- 
tiful ring,  which  has  been  admirably  WTOught  into  the 
scheme.  It  has  scarcely  a  superior  in  any  European 
city;   few,  indeed,  equal  it.     Substantially  square  in 


110  RIDING,   DRIVING,   FENCING. 

shape,  it  is  yet  large  enough  to  afford  distance  for  a 
hand-gallop  or  for  jumping,  and  hurdles  of  all  heights 
are  ready  at  hand  to  be  used  by  either  the  small  boy 
who  fears  to  tumble  off  his  sheltie  over  two  feet,  or  by 
the  Meadow  Brook  Hunt  Club  man  who  wishes  to  test 
the  quality  of  his  new  hunter  over  five.  Here  at  times 
may  be  witnessed  as  pretty  drill  as  a  squadron  of  regu- 
lar cavalry  can  display ;  or,  again,  the  driving  of  tan- 
dem in  the  saddle — a  distinctly  clever  and  pretty 
performance.  The  timid  horseman  may  get  the  bear- 
ings of  his  new  steed  before  trusting  himself  to  the 
bridle-paths  of  the  Park,  or  the  bolder  equestrian  may 
take  the  superfluous  devil  out  of  his  high-strung  thor- 
oughbred mare  before  he  faces  the  music  of  the  street. 
And  best  of  all,  rain  or  shine  is  all  alike  in  this  well 
ventilated,  lighted,  and  ample  ring.  Whatever  the 
weather  outside,  one  may  here  enjoy  his  daily  ride  un- 
trammelled by  the  vagaries  of  the  Signal  Service,  and 
with  the  added  convenience  of  the  Park,  but  a  few 
squares  away,  if  cloudless  skies  invite. 

Take  it  for  all  in  all,  in  the  midst  even  of  the  gor- 
geousness  of  the  New  York  clubs,  the  Riding  Club,  at 
least  in  the  eyes  of  all  who  love  the  most  intelligent 
and  useful  of  the  companions  of  man,  stands  preem- 


THE    RIDING    CLUB.  Ill 

inent  in  contributing  to  our  American  health  and 
enjoyment.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  club  will  be 
the  prototype  of  many  others  in  all  our  largest  cities. 
The  fullest  credit  is  due  to  its  originators  and  officers, 
and  the  community  will  be  indebted  to  its  enterprise 
for  the  revival  of  thousands  of  glowing  complexions 
and  rounded  limbs,  and  for  the  return  of  thousands  of 
hearty  appetites  and  elastic  nerve  centres. 


THE  HIMALAYA  PONY  AND 
HAWAIIAN  RIDERS. 


THE  HIMALAYA  PONY  AND  HAWAIIAN 
EIDEES.* 


npHE  influence  of  Arabian  blood  has  travelled  main- 
ly westward.  All  that  we  especially  prize  in 
Europe  and  America  in  the  way  of  horseflesh  owes  its 
highest  qualities  to  the  steed  of  the  desert,  whose 
peculiar  traits  have  been  conserved  and  improved  in 
the  English  thoroughbred.  But  Arabian  blood  has  not 
penetrated  much  to  the  eastward.  It  is  principally 
through  the  influence  of  Europeans  that  the  race  has 
made  a  slight  impress  on  the  horse  of  India,  and  be- 
yond this  peninsula  only  individuals  have  been  trans- 
ported. But  there  is  in  the  far  East  a  horse  to  take 
the  place  of  the  Arabian — the  Himalaya  pony — and  he 
is  as  wonderful  in  his  way  as  the  best  of  Syrian  stock. 
His  origin  is  apparently  in  the  foot-hills  of  the  great 

*  Published  in  Harper's  Weekly,  July  20,  1890. 


116  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

range,  but  he  has  been  brought  down  to  the  plains  on 
either  hand.  You  find  him  in  India,  where  the  natives 
use  him,  among  other  things,  as  a  polo  pony ;  you  find 
him  in  China  mixed  with  the  native  horse.  But  he  is 
at  his  best  when  nearest  to  his  mountain  home. 

The  pony  runs  from  the  size  of  a  small  sheltie  to 
about  that  of  a  common  American  bronco.  But,  unlike 
the  latter,  which  is  a  small  horse,  he  is  a  true  pony, 
with  big  head,  fine  but  bushy  hair,  and  chunky  build. 
He  has  exceptional  strength  and  endurance,  and  even 
the  small  ones  will  pull  a  cab  with  several  people  in  it. 
He  is  good-natured  and  intelligent,  and  not  only  per- 
forms all  the  duties  that  the  ass  does  in  the  Orient 
proper,  but  is  a  capital  mount  besides.  His  legs  and 
feet  are  made  of  iron.  There  is  by  no  means  the  thor- 
oughbred look  about  him  which  an  equally  small 
Arabian  will  have — his  type  is  different;  but  he  is 
built  for  wear,  and  on  his  native  hills  he  would  soon 
kill  his  nobler  cousin. 

The  little  Manipuri  polo  pony  is  one  of  this  Him- 
alaya breed — rather  a  small  specimen.  You  would 
not  believe  that  he  could  carry  a  good-sized  man  as 
easily  as  he  does,  but  we  are  wont  to  underrate  the 
strength  of  all  the  smaller  animals.     They  can  do  pro- 


THE  HIMALAYA  PONY  AND  HAWAIIAN  RIDERS.     117 

portionately  much  more  work  than  the  larger  ones.  A 
Percheron  weighing  three-quarters  of  a  ton  can  haul  a 
big  load,  to  be  sure,  but  he  could  not  go  half  the  dis- 
tance that  a  little  bronco  which  weighs  but  a  third  of 
that  amount  handily  covers,  even  if  the  latter  should 
carry  as  heavy  a  man.  We  are  apt  to  think  that  it 
needs  a  big  horse  to  carry  a  big  man  or  woman.  Such 
a  one  certainly  looks  better  fitted  for  his  work,  but  a 
small  cob  or  even  a  little  knife-blade  thoroughbred 
will  often  carry  more  weight  safer  and  farther  than 
the  taller  fellow.  The  Himalaya  pony  is  a  great 
weight-carrier,  very  much  like  the  Shetland,  and  the 
little  beggars  will  scurry  over  the  polo-ground  at  a  gait 
and  with  an  ease  which  are  surprising. 

Polo  in  the  Orient  is  a  very  ancient  game.  It  was 
brought  from  there  by  the  English,  and,  as  we  think, 
has  been  improved  by  our  methods.  This  may  be 
doubted  so  far  as  mere  skill  is  concerned,  but  in  speed 
and  "go"  our  polo  is  away  ahead  of  the  game  among 
the  indolent  sons  of  the  Prophet. 

I  possess  the  picture  of  the  young  King  of  Nepaul 
on  quite  a  typical  Himalayan.  The  little  sovereign  is 
not  yet  out  of  leading-strings,  but  when  he  gets  to  be 
eighteen  he  succeeds  to  his  throne,  with  the  power  of 


118  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING, 

life  and  death  over  all  his  subjects.  Nepaul  is  one  of 
the  kingdoms  of  northeastern  India  over  which  Great 
Britain  exercises  only  a  species  of  protectorate.  I 
have  never  seen  the  King  of  Nepaul,  but  I  recently 
crossed  the  Pacific  with  a  similar  monarch,  the  Nawab 
of  Rampur,  who  is  travelling  around  the  world  as  a 
preparation  for  assuming  the  government  of  his  king- 
dom next  year.  He  is  a  sensible,  pleasant  lad,  and 
joined  in  all  games  on  board  the  Gallic  quite  inform- 
ally. He  speaks  excellent  English,  and  appears  to  be 
fairly  well  informed  for  a  youth  of  his  years.  I  found 
that  he  talked  very  intelligently  upon  many  topics. 
He  liked  to  tell  about  his  people,  among  whom  are 
many  of  the  ancient  Rohillas,  one  of  the  finest  tribes 
in  India.  No  doubt  H.  H.  the  Nawab  will  be  the  bet- 
ter ruler  for  his  trip.  He  was  accompanied  by  his 
suite  and  by  an  English  tutor;  and  an  English  army 
officer,  who  is  British  Resident  at  Rampur,  had  espe- 
cial supervision  of  the  Nawab.  We  shall  soon  see  him 
in  New  York. 

In  China  and  the  countries  south  of  it  you  find  that 
the  best  of  the  not  very  good  horses  bear  the  impress 
of  the  Himalaya  blood,  just  as  our  horses  do  that  of 
the  Arabian.     Despite  this  fact,  the  Chinese  pony  is  a 


THE  HIMALAYA  PONY  AND  HAWAIIAN  EIDERS.     119 

pretty  mean  fellow,  principally  because  the  people  are 
not  good  horsemen,  and  take  no  manner  of  care  of 
him.  When  you  go  further  north  the  Tartar  or  the 
Siberian  horse  is  a  Steppes  runt  of  a  different  order, 
and  vastly  more  serviceable. 

In  Hawaii  there  are  two  very  peculiar  horsemen. 
Fancy  riding  a  bullock !  And  yet  if  you  could  see  the 
beautiful  little  bullocks  of  India,  as  sleek  and  fine  as 
Jersey  heifers,  with  legs  like  a  deer,  and  with  soft 
plaintive  eyes,  and  could  see  how  rapidly  they  haul  the 
little  native  carts,  you  would  not  despise  such  a  mount 
on  a  pinch.  The  Hawaiian  bullock  is  a  coarse  creature, 
really  not  fit  for  saddle-work;  but  in  a  land  where 
there  are  no  native  horses,  and  where  the  roads  are 
often  only  paths  along  the  mountain-sides,  impassable 
for  wheels,  any  creature  which  can  carry  a  pack  or  a 
man  is  worth  having.  And  a  bullock  can  usually  be 
made  to  walk  very  rapidly  and  trot  quite  a  respectable 
gait.  What  a  sensation  one  could  make  with  a  fawn- 
colored  saddle-bullock  in  Central  Park  !  And  how  the 
horses  would  fly  the  track  at  sight  of  the  intruder ! 

The  other  Hawaiian  who  interests  us  is  the  lady  who 
rides  man-fashion.  This  appears  to  be  the  uniform 
habit  among  both  the  native  women  and  foreigners. 


120  HIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

When  the  dress  is  awkwardly  made  and  worn  the  style 
is  lamentably  ungainly;  but  I  saw  several  young 
ladies  there  with  trimly  cut  cloth  suits  who  looked  not 
only  neatly  as  horsewomen,  but  rode  well.  The  native 
women  merely  add  to  their  every-day  upper  garments 
a  pair  of  very  wide  overalls,  twice  as  long  as  their 
legs,  and  made  of  calico  of  any  common  pattern. 
This  rig  is  neither  pretty  nor  commendable  in  any 
sense.  But  the  trimly  turned  suits  I  saw  seemed  to  be 
of  the  genus  trouser  rather  than  a  divided  skirt,  cut 
not  too  loosely  about  the  hips,  and  no  longer  than 
would  make  them  naturally  hang  down  to  cover  the 
foot  about  as  much  as  the  modern  habit.  They  had  a 
tailor-made  look,  and  were  fitted  snugly  enough  not  to 
drag  upward  nor  look  bunchy  when  the  lady  was  in 
the  saddle.  They  were  as  pleasing  as  the  native  suit 
is  distressing. 

It  seems  to  be  a  task  beyond  any  one's  power  to 
accomplish  to  introduce  among  women  either  the  new 
reform  dress  or  the  man's  seat  in  the  saddle.  Is  it 
Dame  Fashion  who  stands  athwart  the  path  of  these 
questionable  improvements?  Or  is  it  that  women 
have  the  idea  that  men  will  not  like  too  much  poach- 
ing on  their   sartorial   manor?     Surely   imitation    of 


THE  HIMALAYA  PONY  AND  HAWAIIAN  RIDERS.     121 

men's  attire  has  gone  as  far  of  late  years  as  it  well  can 
and  retain  the  woman's  special  attributes.  I  have 
always  resented  the  extremes  of  fashion ;  and  I  have 
been  an  advocate  of  a  woman's  occasionally  changing 
from  right  to  left  side  in  the  saddle,  so  as  to  equalize 
the  use  of  the  muscles,  but  I  am  not  quite  sure  that  I 
approve  of  the  fin  de  sieele  tendency  away  from  the 
womanliness  we  were  brought  up  to  know  either  in 
dress  or  equitation.  I  think  men  admire  and  love 
women  because  they  possess  certain  qualities  that  men 
can  never  aspire  to.  People  are  apt  to  like  or  want 
just  what  they  themselves  are  not  or  have  not  got.  I 
doubt  whether  women  who  are  too  manly  often  gain 
that  peculiar  admiration  from  men  which  their  some- 
what less-pronounced  sisters  so  readily  capture.  Cam- 
araderie is  an  excellent  thing  in  woman,  according  to 
the  modern  idea;  but  the  great  character  reader  of  all 
time  said  that  it  was  a  low  soft  voice  which  deserved 
that  encomium,  and  if  we  construe  "a  low  soft  voice" 
in  its  broader  meaning,  I  think  we  shall  all  agree  to 
prefer  it  to  the  mere  comradeship,  even  if  this  does 
include  knickerbockers  in  the  street  and  a  man's  seat 
in  the  saddle. 


LONG-DISTANCE  RIDING. 


LONG-DISTANCE  RIDINGS 


nV  yTANY  years  ago  Dr.  Brown-Sequard,  in  a  lecture 
to  a  Harvard  class,  was  illustrating  liow  instan- 
taneously death  followed  any  lesion  to  brain  tissue  or 
spinal  marrow.  "1  insert  my  probe  between  the  ver- 
tebrae of  this  rabbit,"  said  he,  taking  up  a  specimen 
which  was  nibbling  at  a  cabbage  on  the  table  before 
him,  "and  you  see  that  it  at  once  expires."  The 
Doctor's  remark  was  followed  by  a  general  titter 
through  the  class,  for,  though  he  had  duly  suited  his 
action  to  his  words,  when  he  laid  it  down  the  rabbit 
went  as  calmly  at  the  cabbage  again  as  if  not  in  the 
slightest  degree  inconvenienced.  This  singular  fact 
and  other  similar  ones  which  he  later  noticed  here,  but 
had  never  observed  among  European  animals,  led  Dr. 
Brown-Sequard,   after   careful  tests,  to  enunciate  the 

*  Published  in  Army  and  Navj-  Journal,  November  15,  1892. 


126  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

theory  that  the  mammal  of  North  America  has  more 
vitality  than  that  of  Europe.  This  theory  is  supported 
by  many  facts  and  was  fairly  proven  sound  by  the 
numerous  cases  of  recovery  from  extraordinary  capital 
operations  during  our  civil  war.  It  has  now  been  ac- 
cepted by  all  who  have  studied  the  subject.  The  word 
"vitality,"  thus  used,  we  understand  to  mean  the 
ability  to  perform  exceptional  physical  feats  or  to 
endure  excessive  hardship  v^^ithout  death  or  material 
injury. 

The  late  ride  of  some  seven-score  army  officers  be- 
tween Berlin  and  Vienna  has  two  interesting  aspects — 
the  amount  of  endurance  of  the  animals  ridden  and 
the  judgment  of  the  riders  as  to  the  capacity  of  their 
horses  to  perform.  How  these  two  items  compare  with 
what  our  cavalry  is  daily  experiencing  on  the  plains  is 
a  fruitful  subject  of  inquir}^ 

As  the  crow  flies,  it  is  325  English  miles  from  Ber- 
lin to  Vienna.  By  the  road  it  is  variously  called  350 
to  370;  it  is  certainly  short  of  the  latter  distance. 
Count  Stahremberg,  the  winner,  covered  the  distance 
from  Vienna  to  Berlin  (which,  owing  to  the  mountain- 
ous section  being  crossed  in  the  early  part  of  the  ride, 
is  easier  than   the  course  from  Berlin  to  Vienna)  in 


LONG-DISTANCE    RIDING.  127 

some  minutes  less  than  three  days.  Three  other  men 
came  in  within  three  days  and  three  hours.  The  best 
German  rider,  Lieut.  Reitzenstein,  took  a  trifle  over 
73^  hours.  This  sounds  like  a  set  of  wonderful  per- 
formances; are  they  really  so? 

The  race  was  go-as-you-please.  The  riders  started 
from  Vienna  or  Berlin  at  different  hours  and  rode  at 
any  gait  or  speed  and  by  any  road  they  chose.  The 
horses  were  the  very  best;  no  one  not  owning  a  horse 
noted  for  unusual  endurance  would  have  been  fool 
enough  to  enter.  There  were  many  thoroughbreds, 
many  "native"  horses,  Prussians  and  Hungarians, 
some  "ponies"  from  the  Carpathian  and  Transylva- 
nian  uplands.  The  animals  had  all  been  prepared  by 
weeks  of  careful  training.  They  carried  the  least 
possible  weight ;  the  winner  e.  g.  rides  but  128  pounds 
plus  saddle  and  bridle.  The  roads  were  the  very  best. 
Under  these  most  favorable  conditions  the  winner  rode 
120  miles  a  day  for  three  consecutive  days,  the  others 
less. 

There  has  been  a  disposition  among  Anglo-Saxons 
to  underrate  this  performance.  The  large  number  of 
horses  killed  or  foundered  with  good  right  distresses 
our   sense  of  pure  sport.     But  for  all  that  it  was   a 


128  RIDING,    DRIVING,   FENCING. 

famous  ride,  though  open  to  serious  criticism.  Any 
horse  ridden  125  miles  in  twenty-four  hours  performs 
a  great  feat;  one  ridden  200  miles  in  forty-eight  hours, 
a  greater;  to  ride  350  miles  in  three  days  or  a  bit 
over  is  little  short  of  marvellous,  if  you  bring  the  horse 
in  free  from  permanent  injury.  But  there's  the  rub, 
and  it  is  on  this  point  that  there  is  a  word  to  say. 

Comparisons  may  be  "  odorous,"  but  they  are  inter- 
esting and  useful.  Few  people  out  of  the  Army  know 
just  what  our  cavalry  is  capable  of,  and  this  ride 
affords  an  opportunity,  not  to  be  lightly  neglected,  to 
point  a  moral  and  adorn  a  tale. 

The  nearest  approach  to  the  Stahremberg  ride  by  an 
American  which  I  can  at  the  moment  recall  is  that 
of  the  pony  which  Col.  Richard  I.  Dodge  personally 
knew.  His  owner  was  a  professional  express  rider 
who  carried  the  mail  from  El  Paso  to  Chihuahua, 
thither  once  a  week  and  back  the  next.  As  the  coun- 
try was  infested  by  Apaches,  the  man  had  to  ride  by 
night  and  hide  by  day.  His  practice  was  to  ride  the 
distance,  300  miles,  in  three  consecutive  nights,  and 
rest  his  pony  four  days  between  trips.  "  Six  months 
of  this  work  had  not  diminished  the  fire  or  flesh  of 
that  wonderful  pony,"  says  Colonel  Dodge.     It  is  true 


LONG-DISTANCE    RIDING.  129 

that  300  miles  is  not  350,  but  this  pony — probably  not 
over  fourteen  hands,  and  with  rider,  mail  and  the  usual 
plains  trappings,  carrying  at  lowest  200  pounds,  used 
to  make  the  300  miles  in  some  sixty  hours  (i.  e.,  three 
nights  and  the  intervening  two  days) — an  equal  aver- 
age rate  of  speed  as  that  of  Stahremberg  and  a  much 
higher  rate  while  going,  and  no  one  pretends  that  the 
Count  or  any  other  of  the  Berlin- Vienna  riders  could 
have  turned  round  and  done  the  same  thing  over  again 
the  succeeding  week ;  whereas  this  little  marvel  kept 
on  doing  it  every  week  for  six  months,  and  no  one 
knows  how  much  longer,  over  a  country  having  no 
roads  deserving  the  name,  by  night  and  feeding  only 
on  bunch-grass.  Which  of  the  two  is  the  better  per- 
formance? This  cannot,  perhaps,  be  equalled,  but  to 
ride  and  repeat  nearly  as  great  distances  has  never 
been  and  is  not  to-day  considered  an  exceptional  thing 
on  the  plains. 

And  if  this  pony  outdid  the  winner  of  the  great  Ger- 
man race,  by  how  far  does  he  outrank  the  losers?  The 
horse  ridden  by  Count  Stahremberg  was  brought  in  in 
fairly  good  condition,  but  died  within  a  day  or  two. 
The  horse  of  the  German  winner  died.  A  very  high 
percentage  of   the   others  either  died  or  broke  down 


130  BIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

midway  and  were  ridden  home  moribund  or  ruined. 
They  were  kept  up,  on  dit,  by  all  kinds  of  stimulants 
and  nostrums  on  the  road.  No  accounts  have  reached 
us  yet  showing  the  condition  of  the  horses'  backs  under 
the  saddle,  always  a  prime  proof  of  careful  or  unintel- 
ligent treatment.  In  fact  the  number  of  dead  or  ruined 
animals  seems  to  be  purposely  suppressed.  That  it  was 
the  ponies  which  came  in  with  the  least  injury  will  not 
surprise  our  Army  men.  While  a  thoroughbred  may 
outpace  a  pony,  a  ride  which  will  kill  him  will  not 
permanently  disable  the  little  runt  of  the  prairie.  The 
latter's  ancestry  has  had  to  struggle  with  too  much 
hardship  to  be  easily  killed,  while  the  thoroughbred's 
has  been  warmly  housed  and  artificially  handled.  His 
heritage  is  to  do  and  endure;  the  thoroughbred's  to 
make  pace. 

A  few  individual  rides  in  our  Cavalry  may  not  come 
amiss.  In  1879  several  single  couriers  with  the 
news  of  his  imminent  danger  rode  from  Thornburg's 
"rat-hole"  to  Gen.  Merritt's  column,  170  miles,  in  less 
than  24  hours.  The  exact  time  of  each  was  not  taken. 
Rescue  was  more  important  than  records.  In  1891 
two  troopers  of  the  8th  Cav.,  rode  with  dispatches  110 
miles  in  20  hours ;  and  Capt.  Fountain  rode  84  miles 


LONG-DISTANCE    RIDING.  131 

in  eight  hours,  and  110  miles  in  23.  Rides  of  from 
120  to  150  miles  have  reioeatedly  been  made,  within 
the  day  and  night,  by  our  ordinary  troop-horses  when 
not  specially  prepared  for  the  work,  and  it  is  extremely 
rare  that  they  have  suffered  serious  injury. 

There  are  few  three-day  rides  by  single  horsemen 
which  can  readily  be  quoted ;  but  other  performances 
may  be  given,  which  are  akin  to  this  one.  We  put 
aside  all  mere  hearsay  rides.  Of  these  there  is  no  end, 
but  it  is  well  to  put  on  record  only  such  rides  as  are 
proven  by  official  reports,  and  of  which  the  distances 
can  be  measured  by  clear  evidence. 

Now,  one  man  or  horse  travelling  alone  can  go 
much  further  or  faster  than  several  travelling  together, 
and  the  more  the  individuals  the  slower  the  speed. 
The  speed  and  endurance  of  a  troop  is  that  of  the  poor- 
est horse.  Extra  weight  infinitely  adds  to  a  horse's 
task  and  diminishes  his  course,  and  his  capacity  to  go 
depends  upon  the  chance  to  feed,  water  and  care  for 
him  suitably  on  the  road.  It  is  in  marching  detach- 
ments over  great  distances  that  our  cavalry  officers 
show  peculiar  success.  Perhaps  a  knowledge  of  pace 
and  the  instinctive  feel  of  the  horse's  condition  is  the 
highest  grade  of  horsemanship.     Civilians  are  wont  to 


132  RIDING,    DRIVING,   FENCING. 

think  that  to  play  polo,  or  hunt,  or  win  a  race  over 
the  flat,  or  perform  High  School  airs  demand  the  high- 
est skill;  but  let  any  one  undertake  to  ride  a  horse,  or 
better  to  lead  a  troop  100  miles  in  twenty-four  hours, 
and  despite  all  he  may  have  learned  in  peaceful  sports, 
he  will  find  his  knowledge  of  this  branch  of  horseman- 
ship distinctly  limited.  Not  all  our  cavalry  officers  are 
equally  gifted,  but  some  have  made  rides  which  are 
unsurpassed. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  our  cavalry  horse  is 
ab  origine  a  very  common  fellow.  He  is  bought  by  the 
Government  at  a  price  which  brings  out  mainly  those 
animals  which  are  not  quite  good  enough  to  command 
the  top  of  the  market  and  warrant  their  being  sent  to 
a  distance  for  sale.  They  go  out  to  the  plains,  and 
are  there  got  into  condition  while  at  work.  They  are 
not,  as  abroad,  raised  in  studs  boasting  sires  of  the 
highest  lineage.  On  the  march  the  troop-horse  carries 
very  little  less  than  250  pounds — 88  pounds  for  equip- 
ment and  baggage  and  not  much  less  than  160  for  the 
rider.  In  camp  he  is  well  fed ;  on  the  march  he  can- 
not always  be,  and  he  is  watered  at  irregular  intervals. 
All  these  things  tell  against  him. 

In  1873,   Col.    Mackenzie    rode   his    command  into 


LONG-DISTANCE    RIDING.  133 

Mexico  after  Lepan  and  Kickapoo  Indians,  beat  them 
in  a  sharp  fight  and  returned  across  the  border,  mak- 
ing 145  miles  in  twenty-eight  hours.  In  1874,  he 
again  rode  his  command  into  Mexico  after  horse 
thieves,  making  there  and  back,  85  miles  in  fifteen 
hours.  In  1880,  Capt.  Wood  with  eight  men  rode 
after  an  orderly  sergeant  who  had  decamped  with  the 
company  fund,  140  miles  in  thirty-one  hours.  Men 
and  horses  were  taken  from  the  roster,  not  specially 
selected.  Not  a  horse  was  injured.  Five  men  with 
despatches  rode  from  Fort  Harney  to  Fort  Warren,  140 
miles,  in  twenty-two  hours,  and  so  little  used  up  were 
their  horses  that  they  went  back  to  Fort  Harney  in 
two  days.  In  1879,  Captain  Dodge,  with  his  troop, 
rode  80  miles  in  sixteen  hours,  and  Lieut.  Wood,  with 
his  troop,  rode  70  miles  in  twelve  hours;  Capt.  Fechet, 
with  two  troops,  rode  85  miles  in  fourteen  hours;  Col. 
Henry,  with  four  troops,  rode  108  miles  in  thirty-three 
hours,  being  in  the  saddle  twenty-two  hours.  One 
horse  dropped  dead  at  the  end  of  the  march,  but  there 
was  not  a  sore  backed  horse  in  the  regiment  and  they 
started  out  again  after  a  rest  of  twenty-four  hours. 
The  same  command  made  a  night  march  of  50  miles 
in  ten  hours. 


134  RIDING,   DRIVING,   FENCING. 

Gen.  Merritt  in  1879,  with  four  troops  and  ham- 
pered by  a  battalion  of  infantry  in  wagons,  rode  170 
miles  to  the  relief  of  Payne  in  66^  hours  and  reached 
the  scene  in  prime  order  and  ready  to  go  into  a  fight. 
Very  long  distances  have  been  covered  by  cavalry  reg- 
iments at  the  rate  of  60  miles  a  day.  Col.  Henry,  an 
expert  on  this  subject,  speaking  of  hardening  the  men 
and  horses  of  a  command  by  a  month's  drills  of  from 
15  to  20  miles  at  rapid  gaits,  aptly  says:  "^A  cavalry 
command  thus  hardened  and  with  increased  feeds 
ought  to  be  able  to  make  50  to  60  miles  a  day  as  long 
as  required,  and  to  such  a  command  100  miles  in 
twenty-four  hours  ought  to  be  easy.  The  horse,  like 
the  athlete,  needs  training,  and  when  this  is  done  his 
endurance  is  limited  only  by  that  of  his  rider." 

These  are  but  a  few  instances  which  any  of  our  cav- 
alry officers  can  duplicate  from  their  own  knowledge. 
Now,  if  we  take  the  conditions  under  which  these  rides 
have  been  made — a  common-bred  native  troop  horse, 
not  always  kept  hard  and  ready  for  work,  the  excep- 
tional weight  carried,  for  all  but  the  courier  work  was 
done  with  full  equipment;  the  fact  that  most  of  the 
course  w^as  over  country  without  roads,  or  only  trails, 
which    are    the   merest   apology  for  roads,  and  often 


LONG-DISTANCE    RIDING.  135 

hilly  and  badly  cut  up ;  that  the  pace  must  be  made 
for  the  slowest  horses  and  be  such  that  weak  factors 
in  the  troop  shall  be  respected ;  that  the  incentive  was 
$13  a  month  and  simple  duty,  and  not  a  splendid 
money  prize  of  $5,000  and  the  commendation  of  em- 
perors, and  above  all  that  the  commands  have  uni- 
formly been  brought  in  without  injury  to  man  or 
beast,  we  shall  find  matter  for  justifiable  self-gratu- 
lation. 

The  writer  has  from  youth  been  reasonably  familiar 
with  the  performances  of  European  cavalry,  and  has 
studied  the  Arabian  horse  in  the  French  army  in 
Algiers  and  in  his  native  haunts  on  the  Libyan  and 
Syrian  deserts.  He  has  sought  assiduously  for  records 
of  great  performances,  but  exceptional  work  is  only 
called  out  by  exceptional  needs,  and  these  abroad  are 
apt  to  be  wanting.  Granted  that  the  German  cavalry, 
for  example,  is  marvellously  drilled;  that  it  has  the 
stomach  to  fight  has  been  a  notorious  fact  ever  since 
the  days  of  Ziethen  and  Seydlitz.  Granted,  that  it  can 
perform  precise  evolutions  or  charge  on  the  battlefield 
in  masses  greater  than  our  entire  cavalry  force ;  yet 
this  by  no  means  reaches  the  heart  of  distance  riding. 
Such  a  thing  as  the  "raider  and  pursuer"  drills,  which 


136  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

General  Miles  started  in  1877,  by  which,  as  a  mere 
matter  of  hardening  man  and  horse,  groups  of  twenty 
men  or  more  rode  between  120  and  140  miles  in  from 
forty  to  fifty  hours,  would  never  be  dreamed  of  in 
Germany,  All  our  work  on  the  plains  tends  to  dis- 
tance riding.  In  no  other  regular  army  in  the  world 
does  this  obtain.  The  Austro-Hungarian  cavalry  is 
better  fitted  than  the  German  for  distance  riding  and 
has,  as  a  pattern,  the  steppes  man  and  horse,  unex- 
celled in  this  very  thing.  In  Algeria,  while  the  horse 
of  the  19th  Corps  d'Armee  is  all  mounted  on  Arabians, 
there  is  apt  to  be  no  call  for  excessive  marches,  and 
there  is  no  preparation  for  them.  The  Spahis,  or 
light  cavalrymen  of  native  birth,  are  in  constant 
movement  all  over  the  country,  but  they  have  the 
true  Oriental  trick  of  not  overworking  themselves. 
And  so  far  as  wonderful  individual  distance  rides  are 
concerned,  I  have  been  unable  to  pin  down  a  single 
such  ride  to  reliable  evidence.  An  Arab  sheik  out  in 
the  desert  who  owns  a  high-bred  mare  will  tell  you  of 
marvellous  performances,  but  they  are  as  nebulous  as 
his  own  Thousand  and  One  Nights.  I  once  sought 
to  purchase  some  speed — a  drive  of  80  miles  over  the 
excellent   turnpike   from   Soussa  to    Tunis — in    order 


LONG-DISTANCE    RIDING.  137 

to  catch  a  steamer;  but  though  the  owner  of  some 
really  fine  Arabians  had  been  telling  about  the  300 
kilometres  (186  miles)  a  day  they  could  do,  no  amount 
of  money  could  induce  him  to  agree  to  take  me  over 
the  course  of  80  miles  with  four  horses  and  a  light 
vehicle,  in  less  than  20  hours. 

It  used  to  be  asserted  that  the  Turcoman  cavalry 
could  ride  in  large  bodies  100  miles  a  day  for  a  week 
or  even  more;  but,  though  all  the  steppes  horses  of 
the  world,  like  our  broncos,  are  incomparable  stayers 
on  their  own  terrain,  this  distance  must  be  cut  down 
by  a  large  percentage.  I  have  an  ancient  school 
friend,  now  a  Pacha  and  chief  of  the  40,000  Kurdish 
cavalry  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  who,  though  absolutely 
familiar  with  the  subject,  was  unwilling  to  vouch  for 
such  a  statement.  The  Kurdish  is  practically  the 
same  as  the  Turcoman  horse  In  talking  it  over, 
this  gentleman  cited  one  of  his  own  distance  rides, 
1,500  kilometres  in  45  days,  as  a  great  performance, 
which  he  thought  established  the  reputation  of  the 
horse  of  Asia  Minor,  beyond  cavil.  But  this  is  only 
33  miles  a  day.  It  was  unnecessary  to  argue  the 
matter,  as  it  would  not  have  elicited  more  accurate 
statistics. 


138  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

After  all  said,  the  palm  for  distance  riding  must 
be  awarded  to  our  own  cavalry  officers.  Taking  all 
the  conditions  into  account,  there  are  probably  no 
civilized  horsemen  who  can  ride  so  far  with  a  body 
of  men  and  bring  them  to  the  end  of  their  journey  in 
as  clean  a  condition  as  the  best  of  our  officers  on  the 
plains.  The  talent  to  do  this  is  by  no  means  univer- 
sal; but  it  is  wide-spread.  And  though  we  may  mar- 
vel at  the  recent  350  miles  ridden  in  from  72  to  80 
hours  by  the  most  expert  foreign  horsemen  on  their 
picked  horses,  the  record  of  dead  and  foundered 
steeds  leads  us  to  believe  that  we  could  have  done 
as  well  and  saved  our  horses. 

This  brings  us  again  to  the  question  of  the  endur- 
ance of  the  American  mammal.  Except  the  ass, 
there  is  perhaps  no  creature  of  the  equine  race  as 
stubbornly  enduring  as  the  bronco  and  liis  cousins 
in  other  lands.  This  is  largely  due  to  the  Ameri- 
can climate.  The  record  of  running  and  trotting 
time  in  America  tends  to  prove  the  same  thing ;  and 
our  athletic  record,  considering  how  recently  born 
our  athletics  are,  is  of  high  grade.  The  fact  that 
the  common  States  horse  can  be  taken  and,  after 
short  training,   made  to  do  such  marvels  of  distance 


LONG-DISTANCE    RIDING.  139 

work,  not  only  proves  the  intelligence  of  our  offi- 
cers, but  sustains  the  claim  of  superior  vitality  in 
the  horse. 


FENCING. 


FENCING.* 


IV  yTANY  generations  ago  reading  and  writing  were 
not  usual  among  average  gentlefolks.  Indeed, 
these  accomplishments  were  as  a  rule  possessed,  even 
in  noble  families,  only  by  a'  sort  of  upper  servant, 
called  a  clerk.  Many  of  the  priesthood  could  not  read 
or  write,  but  committed  to  memory  the  prayers  they 
pretended  to  read  out  of  their  books  at  mass  or  ves- 
pers. The  great  men  of  the  state  were  educated  some- 
what as  we  are,  or  rather  those  nobles  who  chose  to 
become  educated  were  apt  to  rise  to  eminence;  but 
what  we  should  now  call  shameful  ignorance  was  no 
disgrace  even  among  the  highest.  A  wise  man  of  the 
feudal  age  once  said    that  the  education  of  a  noble 

*  Published  in  Harper's  Young  People,  1888,  and  reprinted  by  permission 
of  Messrs.  Harper  &  Brothers. 


144  RIDING,   DRIVING,   FENCING. 

youth  should  be  "to  ride  and  fence  and  speak  the 
truth."  And  this  was  a  shrewd  saying.  To  ride  and 
fence  made  a  young  man  vigorous  and  apt  for  war, 
which  was  then  the  chief  business  of  the  noble  born. 
And  to  speak  and  act  the  truth  has  always  been  and 
will  always  be  the  highest  result  of  all  education. 

I  have  told  you  something  about  riding.  May  I 
spin  you  a  yarn  about  fencing  ?  We  shall  then  have 
completed  this  ancient  education,  for  every  one  of 
you,  I  am  sure,  speaks  and  acts  the  truth  at  all 
times. 

The  original  savage  probably  threw  stones  in  defence 
as  well  as  in  attack.  Next  to  him  came  the  man  with 
the  club  more  or  less  expertly  fashioned  from  the  limb 
of  a  tree.  By-and-by  the  savage  inserted  in  £his  club 
one  or  more  pieces  of  flint  or  shark's  teeth,  and  struck 
at  his  foe  with  the  jagged  edge  thus  made.  When 
metals  were  discovered,  the  club,  after  many  changes, 
became  a  sword,  clumsy  and  easily  dulled,  but  still 
better  than  anything  made  of  wood.  For  thousands 
of  years  fencing,  as  we  understand  it  to-day,  was  never 
dreamed  of.  The  sword  was  only  the  medium  of  at- 
tack, and  was  always  accompanied  by  a  shield  for 
fending  off   the  opponent's  blows.     Many  nations  of 


FENCING.  145 

antiquity  were  no  doubt  wonderful  swordsmen.  No 
doubt  the  trained  gladiators  of  the  Roman  arena  were 
extraordinary  in  skill,  endurance,  and  courage.  The 
Roman  legions  conquered  the  world  by  the  use  of  their 
short  double-edged  gladius,  which  could  lop  off  an  arm 
at  a  blow.  The  knights  of  the  Middle  Ages  used  to 
carve  their  way  through  armies  with  their  huge  two- 
handed  swords.  But  the  Roman  soldier  had  a  shield, 
and  the  knight  had  not  only  a  shield  but  armor  be- 
sides. By-the-way,  these  same  old  knights  in  battle 
were  very  much  like  small  boys  slaughtering  a  hostile 
array  of  mullen  stalks.  They  were  armed  cap-a-pie 
with  steel,  which  none  of  the  missiles  or  weapons  of 
the  unarmored  peasants,  who  formed  the  bulk  of  the 
foemen,  could  pierce.  They  were  safe,  except  from 
other  knights,  and  comparatively  so  from  these.  Their 
only  real  danger  was  from  being  unhorsed.  Once  on 
the  ground,  they  were  so  heavily  laden  with  armor 
that  they  could  scarcely  rise,  and  then  they  often 
became  the  prey  of  the  common  soldiers,  who  were 
able  to  pierce  through  the  armor  joints.  And  serve 
them  right! 

Now  the  fencing  I  shall  tell  you  about  is  what  Sir 
Walter   Scott  speaks  of  in  the  blood-stirring  combat 


146  RIDING,    DRIVING,   FENCING. 

between    the    heroes   of   the   "Lady   of   the   Lake": 

"111  fared   it  then  with  Roderick  Dhu 
That  on  the  field  his  targe  he  threw, 
Whose  brazen  studs  and   tough  bull-hide 
Had  death  so  often  dashed  aside ; 
For,   trained   abroad   his  arms  to  wield, 
Fitz-James' s  blade  was  sword  and  sAieid." 

Curiously,  it  is  only  within  a  couple  of  hundred 
years  that  the  use  of  a  single  weapon  has  been  reduced 
to  such  an  art  as  to  be  equal  in  attack  and  defence. 
So  long  as  armor  was  worn,  it  was  strength  and  endur- 
ance only  which  won.  A  hundred  blows  more  or  less 
were  not  apt  to  do  much  harm ;  but  just  as  soon  as 
gunpowder  made  armor  useless,  people  began  to  find 
swordsmanship  a  necessary  accomplishment.  After 
this  it  took  many  generations  to  come  down  to  the 
simple  and  perfect  weapon  of  to-day — the  small-sword, 
as  the  light,  straight,  three-cornered  weapon  is  called, 
of  which  the  foil  is  the  equivalent  for  practice. 

There  is  one  thing  which  horsemanship  and  swords- 
manship have  in  common — the  less  mere  physical 
force  it  takes  to  produce  a  proper  result,  the  more  the 
skill.  Now  both  arts  require  a  certain  amount  of 
strength,  activity,  endurance,  and  courage,  but  not  so 
much  that  a  man  may  not  retain  the  utmost  skill  as 


FENCING.  147 

horseman  or  fencer  up  to  the  end  of  his  life.  Angelo, 
the  noted  swordsman  and  rider,  gave  lessons  in  both 
arts  in  London  up  to  a  few  days  of  his  death  at  over 
eighty  years  of  age.  What  is  lost  in  activity  is  gained 
in  experience,  eye,  and  hand.  And  this  is  what  makes 
fine  horsemanship  and  fencing  such  admirable  accom- 
plishments— so  far  beyond  those  sports  which  need  the 
elasticity  and  muscle  of  youth,  and  must  necessarily 
be  dropped  as  age  comes  on  us. 

It  is  curious  but  true  that  to-day,  when  the  use  of 
the  sword,  even  among  soldiers,  is  practically  nothing, 
the  theory  and  practice  of  fencing  are  much  more 
perfect  than  they  have  ever  been.  The  earliest  use  of 
swords  was  to  cut ;  thrusting  was  the  province  of 
spears  and  darts.  Later,  swords  were  used  both  to 
cut  and  thrust.  To-day  the  fencing  weapon  only 
thrusts.  The  cavalry  soldier  still  cuts,  and  occasion- 
ally thrusts.  The  German  student,  in  his  picturesque 
and  disfiguring  but  otherwise  harmless  duels,  cuts  ex- 
clusively. The  small-swordsman  thrusts:  the  thrust 
is  by  far  the  more  deadly.  A  man  may  have  a  dozen 
slashes  and  be  none  the  worse,  but  a  small-sword 
wound  through  any  part  of  the  body  is  a  questionable 
matter,  so  that,  were  duelling  not  happily  now  a  thing 


148  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

of  the  past,  the  present  skill  in  fence  would  be  highly 
dangerous,  vastly  more  so  than  the  use  of  pistols.  I 
do  not  mean  to  say  that  there  are  as  many  skilful 
fencers  to-day  as  there  used  to  be.  There  is  not  prob- 
ably one  man  who  can  handle  a  sword  for  a  thousand 
who  could  do  so  when  our  great-grandfathers  wore  ruf- 
fles. But  an  expert  fencer  to-day  is  infinitely  more 
skilful  than  an  equally  expert  fencer  was  two  hundred 
years  ago. 

When  fencing  first  began  to  emerge  from  the  brutal 
slashing  of  armor  days,  it  long  remained  usual  to  have 
a  shield  on  the  left  arm,  and  later  a  smaller  one  on 
the  left  hand  to  ward  off  the  cuts  and  thrusts  of  the 
opponent.  In  some  countries  this  shield  was  some- 
times replaced  by  the  cloak,  the  hanging  folds  of  which 
might  save  one  quite  a  serious  wound.  A  dagger  in 
the  left  hand  was  likewise  common,  and  fencers  were 
skilful  in  parrying  with  this  weapon  while  they  count- 
ered with  the  rapier.  For  many  years  the  left  hand 
was  employed  in  pushing  aside  thrusts,  and  sometimes 
in  seizing  the  enemy's  weapon  at  the  hilt,  and  thus 
disarming  him. 

It  is  barely  a  hundred  years  that  our  present  system 
of   using   the   small-sword    has   obtained.      To-day    a 


FENCING. 


149 


From  Harper's  Youncj  People. 

Copyright,  laSS,  by  Harper  A 

Brothers. 

GiRARD  ThIBAUST, 

A  NOTED  Swordsman. 
(Seventeenth  Century. 


fencer  employs  but  one  arm — usually  the  right — for 
the  sword;  this  suffices  for  both  attack  and  defence. 
The  other  arm  is  a  counterbalance, 
useful  onl}^  in  aiding  the  perfect 
poise  of  the  body  and  quick  recov- 
ery after  longes.  And  as  such  it  is 
vastly  of  more  use  than  it  ever  was 
before.  The  position  of  the  body  is 
theoretically  perfect ;  the  longes  are 
rapid  and  far-reaching ;  the  recovery 
is  quick;  a  parry  of  the  most  vio- 
lent thrust  is  made  without  any  ex- 
penditure of  strength ;  and  the  manner  of  reposting — 
or  thrusting  back  after  a  parry — is  admirable ;  the 
entire  theory  of  fencing  is  self-consistent  and  univers- 
ally the  same. 

In  olden  times  fencing  was  much  after  a  rule  of 
thumb.  Every  master  had  certain  tricks  of  his  own, 
in  which  he  had  himself  become  very  apt,  which  he 
endeavored  to  teach  his  pupils,  and  for  the  secret  of 
which  he  often  charged  huge  prices.  The  position  of 
the  body  was  by  no  means  as  good  as  now.  The  thrust 
was  made  by  only  an  inclination  of  the  body  or  slight 
step,  not  a  longe  forward.     The  blade  was  not  used  to 


150  KIDING,   DRIVING,   FENCING. 

parry  with,  except  in  a  very  limited  manner.  Thrusts 
were  more  apt  to  be  avoided  by  side  or  back  steps 
(voltes  or  passes),  or  by  movements  of  the  body,  than 
by  parries.  The  science,  if  such  it  can  be  called,  was 
so  much  mixed  up  witli  theories,  geometrical  and  phys- 
ical, that  the  practical  part  of  it  almost  disappeared  in 
a  mass  of  nonsense  as  little  like  useful  fencing  as  the 
the  ancient  astrology  was  like  the  astronomy  of  our 
days. 

Skill  in  fencing  in  the  early  days  in  every  country  of 
Europe  was  wont  to  be  the 
province  of  bullies  rather  than 
the  accomplishment  of  gentle- 
men. The  knights  in  armor 
were  not  obliged  to  learn  the 
art  of  defence,  but  to  protect 
themselves    from    these    same 

Sword  and  Hand-bucklek. 
knights    the    common     soldiers  {Fourteenth  Century.) 

were.  Hence,  when  the  knight  was  driven  out  by  gun- 
powder, for  of  course  his  armor  could  not  resist  bullets 
or  cannon  balls,  the  art  of  fencing  was  best  known 
among  a  lower  class  of  men,  who  were  apt  to  become 
what  used  to  be  called  "swash-bucklers,"  or  bullies. 
This  was  so  much  so,  that  in  the  fourteenth  century 


From  Harper's  Younj;  People. — Copy- 
right, 18S8,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 


FENCING. 


151 


there  was  an  act  passed  by  the  English  Parliament  for- 
bidding "Eskirmer  au  Bokeler"  (fencing  with  shields) 
to  be  taught  or  practised. 

The  Italians  were  the  earliest  to  acquire  skill  in  fenc- 
ing, and  to  write  treatises  on  the  subject.  One  very 
celebrated  fencer,  Agrippa,  published  a  book,  the  draw- 
ings for  the  plates  of 
which  were  made  by  his 
friend,  the  great  Michael 
Angelo.  The  Spaniards 
had  a  few  great  masters 
of  the  art,  but  their 
style  was  not  much  fol- 
lowed elsewhere.  The  Germans  were  celebrated  for 
great  skill  and  strength.  The  French  took  pattern  by 
the  Italians,  and  later  developed  the  art  to  a  consider- 
able extent,  doing  more  to  reduce  it  to  the  present 
form  than  any  other  nation. 

In  England  there  was  among  the  people  always  a 
strong  feeling  in  favor  of  the  stouter  blows  of  the 
back-sword,  and  a  tendenc}^  to  despise  the  more  deli- 
cate management  of  the  rapier — a  straight  cut-and- 
thrust  weapon  antedating  the  small-sword — though 
the  upper  classes  used  to  learn  the  foreign  art.   Rough- 


From  Harper's  Yoon^  People  — Copyright,  1833,  by 
Harper  &  Brothers. 

Sword  and  Cloak. 

(Seventeenth  Century.) 


152 


RIDING,   DRIVING,    FENCING. 


From  Harper's  Young  People.  — ('o;jyright,  1888,  by 
Harper  &  Brothers. 


and-tumble  fighting  has  always  been  more  in  favor  in 
England  than  on  the  Continent,  and  the  true  English- 
man preferred  boxing  and  single-stick  and  back-sword- 
ing,  in  which  the 
blows  sounded  more 
severe,  if  actually  less 
dangerous.  Single- 
stick "for  a  broken 
head  or  a  bellyful" 
was  a  popular  sport, 

and     bloody     stage      S>-anish  position.       {SMeenth  Century.) 

shows  were  held  for  gate  money.  One  "Master  of 
the  Noble  Science  of  Defence"  would  challenge  anoth- 
er to  fight  on  a  given  day  with  several  weapons — 
"  back-sword,  sword  and  dagger,  sword  and  buckler, 
single  falchion,  case  of  (two)  falchions,  and  quarter- 
staff."  The  other  would  accept  it,  "desiring  sharp 
swords  and  from  him  no  favor."  Such  contests  usually 
resulted  in  severe  wounds,  if  not  more,  and  were  much 
the  fashion  until  forbidden  by  law.  The  back-sword 
was  a  heavy  cutting  sword,  in  the  use  of  which  the 
combatants  stood  close  up  to  each  other,  raising  the 
left  elbow  to  fend  off  blows  from  that  side,  and  gave 
and  took  lustily.     It  is  the  origin  of  the  single-stick 


FENCING. 


153 


of  to-day.  Back-swording  with  sticks  naturally  fol- 
lowed the  prohibited  metal  blades,  and  a  "broken 
head"  /.  e.  cut  on  the  scalp  was  the  sign  of  victory. 


From  Harper's  Young  People. 

Pakry  with  Left  Hand. 


Copyright,  1888,  by  Harper  &  Brothen. 

{Seventeenth  Century.) 


But  later  on  in  England  the  small-sword  came  into 
fashion,  though  the  common  people  stuck  to  the  old 
sports,  and  the  art  during  the  past  hundred  years  has 
been  well  developed  there. 

England  was  the  first  European  country  to  abolish 
dueling,  and  fencing  remained  an  art  for  exercise  and 
for  the  sake  of  the  art  itself.  In  the  beginning 
of    this    century     the     art,     perhaps,     flourished    in 

England  as  much 
as  in  any  country; 
and  in  America, 
among  a  certain 
class,  to  a  some- 
what less  extent. 
Fencing  will  al- 


From  Harper's  V"ane  Pcoile  —Copyright,  1888,  by 
Harper  &  Brothers. 

Bafier  and  Dagger. 
(1610.) 


154 


RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 


ways  retain  a  high  place  among  sports  and  as  an  ac- 
complishment. It  may  sometimes  be  crowded  out  by 
other  sports  whose  novelty  makes  the  fashion.  But 
as  the  craze  for  the  banjo  cannot  for  more  than  a  short 
time  displace  the  beauty  and  usefulness  of  the  violin, 
so  will  fencing  never  cease  as  one  of  the  most  athletic 
and  artistic  of  sports. 


II. 


When  that  eminent  educator  Mr.  Wackford  Squeers, 
of  Dotheboys  Hall,  had  taught  a  pupil  to  spell  "w-i-n- 
d-e-r,  winder," 
he  at  once  sent 
him  out  to  wash 
the  "winders" 
as  a  practical 
means  of  fasten- 


From  Harper*s  Tonng 

People.— Uopvrighl, 

1868,  by  Harper  * 

Brotlieri. 


Fig.    1. — Prepare  ! 


ing  the  word  in 
his  mind.     Now 
no  one  can  learn 
the  use  of  the  foils,  so  that  the  art  will  remain  with 


From  Harper'.-.  ■>  ..uu;;  People. 

Copyright,  ISSS.by  narperA; 

Brothers. 

Fig.  2.— Draw  ! 


FEKCIN 


155 


him,  unless  he  learns  it  thoroughly.  The  foundation- 
stones  of  every  building  must  be  the  most  carefully 
laid.  Many  of  you  have  learned  the  piano.  It  did 
not  take  many  minutes  for  your  teacher  to  show  you 
how  to  play  so  apparently  simple  a  thing  as  the  scale 
of  C;  but  how  many  long  hours  it  took  you  to  make 
your  obstinate,  stiff,  conceited  fingers  glide  in  strong 

true  rhythm  over  the 

keys  !     If  any  one  of      vT  /T)      "W 

you   is    learning   the      ^'^^^     -^^ 

violin,  he   will   have 

noticed  how  simple  it 

seems    to    draw    the 

bow     across      the 

strings.   But  how  dif- 

FiG.  3.-TWO!  ficult    it    is    to    play    a        Fig.  4.-Three  ! 

single  true  long  note !     And  the  simple  notes  must  be 


From  Hi'.rper's  Young 

People.— Copyright, 

1888,  by  Harper  & 

Brothers. 


From  Harper's  Yoanp 

People.— Copyright,  IS88 

by  Harper  &  Brothers. 


From  IIarp«r'a  Young  People.— Copyrieht. 
1888, by  Harper*  Brothers. 

Fig.  5. — Guaed  ! 


From  Harper's  YouTig  People.— Cop^i.^ui,  lc8i, 
by  Harper  &  Brothers. 

Fig.  6.— Two  ! 


156  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

learned.  So  with  fencing.  The  simple  positions  and 
thrusts  and  parries  must  he  perfect,  or  the  art  will 
never  be  truly  acquired.  I 
have  fenced  with  men  who 
rarely  thrust  anything  but 
quarte  and  tierce,  who  made 
no  use  at  all  of  the  more  in- 
tricate    tlirUStS,     but    WnO     by  From  Harper  sYoungPeopl(!.—C«pyright,1888, 

by  Harper  *  brothers, 

constant    practice    had    be-  fig.  7.— Thkee  ! 

come  so  well  poised,  so  rapid  in  longeing,  and  so  ex- 
pert in  these  elements,  that  they  were  much  more 
dangerous  opponents  than  those  who  preferred  fancy 
work.  Of  course  a  man  should  learn  everything;  but 
if  he  can  parry  well,  and  thrust  quarte  and  tierce  with 
a  perfect  longe  and  recover,  he  is  no  "  duffer."  Now 
if  you  really  want  to  learn  to  fence,  Dick,  you  must 
first  of  all  jt?r«cfo*se  the  position  of  ''on  guard."  Care- 
fully study  the  illustrations.  The  weight  should  be 
on  the  left  leg,  and  the  right  foot  not  more  than  ten 
inches  in  advance  of  the  left  heel,  for  a  boy,  unless  he 
is  very  tall.  In  this  position  you  must  be  able  to  hold 
up  your  right  foot,  the  entire  weiglit  being  perfectly 
balanced  on  the  left  leg.  You  might  do  as  I  used 
when  1  was  of  your  age,  and  was  learning  under  old 


FENCING.  157 

Captain  Chiasso.  So  soon  as  I  had  hopped  into  my 
under-clothing — particularly  on  a  cold  winter's  morn- 
ing, when  the  blood  needed  to  be  sent  whirling  along 

through  the  arteries  be- 
_^      fore    I    liked   to  tackle 

From  Harper's  Young  People.-Copyright,  1888,  by 

H-rper.  Brother..  ^J^^       iCC-COld        WatCr  —  I 

Fig.  8. 

used  to  stand  in  front 
of  my  looking-glass  (not  for  vanity's  sake,  but  to  have 
a  critic)  and  rehearse  the  positions,  and  longe  and 
recover  without  foil,  but 
calling  the  instructor's 
word  of  command,  and 
sharply  reproving  any 
errors  in  what  I  did.  In 
about  five  minutes  I  was 

_  i.  J.  J        Tl  From  Harper's  Youne  People. — Cirvrii/hl,  iss,  by 

as  warm  as  toast,  and  all  HanJ^rA  brothers! 

ready  for  my  tubbing.     A  ^'^-  Q-Thrhst  ! 

celebrated  French  rider  once  said  that  "equitation 
needed  a  great  deal  of  reflection,  especially  from  a 
mirror,"  and  he  had  one  side  of  his  manege  covered 
with  a  huge  set  of  plate-glass  mirrors,  in  which  he 
could  see  and  correct  his  attitudes.  It  is  certainly 
true  that  one  must,  both  in  riding  and  fencing,  either 
have  an  instructor  or  critic   near  by,  or  their  equiva- 


158  RIDING,    DEIVING,   FENCING. 

lent,  to    save   one's    self  from  falling  into  many  bad 
habits,  easy  to  prevent  but  almost  impossible  to  cure. 

Now  let  us  suppose  that  you  want  to  practise  the 
"on  guard."  This  is  the  one  position  to  which  you 
continually  return,  and  it  is  the  corner-stone  of  all 
good  fencing.  You  will  fall  into  it  best  by  successive 
movements  from  a  standing  position.  You  may  think 
this  a  tiresome  preliminary,  Dick ;  but  if  you  want  to 
become  as  expert  as  Jean  Louis,  who  killed 
in  succession  one  afternoon  thirteen  picked 

swordsmen 
with  scarcely 
a  rest  between 


=  tlie       duels,       or,  Fnm-arpert 

^                                                        '  Yo„ne  People, 

'  .  Cnpvrieht,  1RR8, 

Prom  Harper's  Yonng  People  — Copyright,  1888,  by  in     TQr>f       IT     "X'^mi  V- Hirper  4 

Harper  &  Brothers.  ^^^    idOL,     11     JULI  Brothenu 

Fig.  10. — LoNGE !  wisll     to     be-  ^ig.  11. 

come  at  all  expert,  you  must  do  just  this.  I  will  sup- 
pose you  to  be  standing  erect  before  your  instructor — 
the  looking-glass — a  wand,  or  the  foil  if  you  like, 
hanging  easily  in  the  left  hand.  Now  call  the  times 
and  motions  yourself.  "Prepare!"  At  this  you  w^ill 
half  face  to  the  left,  your  left  foot  parallel  to  the  glass, 
your  right  heel  against  the  left  and  pointing  straight 
forward  (Fig.  1).     This  right  angle,  however  much  the 


FENCING.  159 

feet  are  separated  in  the  act  of  fencing,  must  always 
be  maintained.  ''Draw!"  Salute  your  supposed  ad- 
versary— let  us  imagine  it  is  friend  Tom  instead  of 
your  own  reflection — by  extending  the  right  arm  for- 
ward toward  him  with  a  graceful  curve,  palm  up  (Fig. 
2).  ''Two!"  Bring  the  right  hand,  by  a  curved  mo- 
tion, to  the  hilt  of  the  foil,  while  lifting  it  slightly 
with  the  left  (Fig.  3).  "Three!"  Raise  both  hands 
above  the  head,  sliding  the  left  hand  along  to  the 
point  of  the  foil,  the  foil  horizontal  in  a  line  from  front 
to  rear  (Fig.  4).  "Guard!"  Lower  the  foil  to  posi- 
tion shown  in  Fig.  5,  which  study  carefully.  From 
the  elbow,  which  is  held  about  six  inches  from  the 
waist,  to  the  point  of  the  foil  is  a  straight  line,  and  the 
tip  is  about  the  height  of  your  chin.  "Two!"  Bend 
the  knees,  dropping  easily  down,  the  body  and  head 
erect  (Fig.  6).  "Three!"  Step  forward  about  ten  or 
twelve  inches,  the  right  shin  perpendicular  (Fig.  7). 
Now  you  are  "on  guard,"  ready  for  all  comers — when 
you  know  how  to  fence.  To  complete  this  guard  you 
must  be  careful  to  lightly  but  firmly  hold  the  foil  as 
shown  in  Fig.  8.  Not  a  finger  ever  changes.  You 
cannot  make  yourself  too  perfect  in  these  motions. 
You   may   as   well  practise  thus  falling  "on  guard" 


160  RIDING,    DRIVING,   FENCING. 

as  any  other  exercise  to  warm  your  blood  in  the 
morning. 

When  "on  guard,"  to  satisfy  yourself  that  your  posi- 
tion is  right,  and  that  your  weight  is  well  sustained  by 
the  left  leg,  you  may  make  an  "attack"  or  a  "double 
attack."  These  consist  simply  of  a  single  stamp  or 
quick  double  stamp  with  the  right  foot.  They  have 
no  particular  use.  They  are  the  relic  of  a  primitive 
style  of  fencing,  and,  like  the  Chinese  gongs  in  battle, 
were  intended  to  frighten  or  mislead  the  adversary  by 
a  show  of  vigor.  Years  ago  all  thrusts  used  to  be  pre- 
ceded by  an  "attack."  It  now  only  assures  you  that 
your  position  "on  guard"  is  easy  and  balanced.  When 
you  have  gone  through  these  exercises  by  command  so 
many  times  that  you  are  at  home  in  them,  you  may 
execute  the  whole  thing  without  command.  But  do  it 
rhythmically  and  accurately;  and  it  will  be  well  to 
come  back  often  to  the  commands.  If  you  have  some 
companion  to  do  all  this  with  you,  each  can  criticise 
and  give  the  command  for  the  other. 

The  next  thing  to  practise  is  the  advance  and  re- 
treat, which  are  made  from  the  position  of  guard.  To 
advance,  you  step  forward,  slightly  only,  with  the 
right  foot,  and  quickly  follow  up  with  the  left.     At 


FENCING.  161 

first  only  take  one  step  at  a  time,  and  '^'attack"  be- 
tween, to  be  sure  you  are  firm  in  place.  To  retreat, 
you  step  back  with  the  left  foot  and  follow  with  the 
right.  Be  sure  your  advance  and  retreat  do  not  dis- 
turb your  position.  Formerly  fencers  made  "passes" 
and  "voltes,"  and  either  foot  might  be  in  advance  or 
sidewise.  Nowadays  the  position  given  is  never 
altered. 

We  will  now  learn  something  which  will  seem  much 
more  like  fencing  to  you — the  thrust  and  longe.  At 
the  command,  "Thrust!"  extend  your  sword  arm 
sharply  to  the  front,  nails  up,  with  the  arm  and  sword 
in  one  straight  horizontal  line  from  the  shoulder,  firm- 
ly keeping  your  position  meanwhile  (Fig.  9).  At  the 
word  "Guard!"  you  return  your  arm  to  the  position 
of  guard  (Fig.  7).  Now  then,  "  Thrust !  "  "  Guard  !  " 
"  Thrust !  "  "  Guard  !  "  Again,  "  Thrust !  "  and  at  the 
word,  "  Longe  !  "  straighten  the  left  keee,  but  without 
disturbing  the  left  foot,  and  step  smartly  out  with 
your  right  foot  in  line  about  twelve  or  fifteen  inches, 
dropping  the  left  arm  as  you  do  so  (Fig.  10).  Dwell 
in  this  position  a  few  seconds,  if  you  can.  You  will 
be  mighty  unsteady  to  begin  with,  and  your  foil  will 
weigh  a  ton;    but  you,  must  strengthen   the   muscles 


162  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

used  in  this  longe.  Straighten  the  arm  and  knee  to- 
gether ;  longe  and  drop  the  left  arm  together,  and 
hold  position  of  feet.  Now,  "  Recover ! "  and  by  a 
springing  push  of  the  right  foot,  a  downward  bend  of 
the  left  knee,  and  the  toss  up  of  the  left  arm,  all 
together,  you  will  find  that  you  naturally  drop  back 
to  the  guard.  Repeat  this  again  and  again.  These 
are  the  looking-glass  exercises,  which  you  cannot  prac- 
tise too  much  or  criticise  too  carefully.  And  as  a 
pianist  plays  his  scales  daily  to  make  his  fingers 
limber,  so  must  a  fencer  constantly  recur  to  the  simple 
but  all-important  movements  of  the  guard,  the  advance 
and  retreat,  the  longe,  and  the  recover. 

When  you  have  become  perfect  in  these  exercises  so 
that  you  instinctively  do  them  properly,  you  may  prac- 
tise longeing  at  a  mark  on  the  wall.  The  position  of 
the  hand  with  the  nails  uppermost  is  quarte,  and  as 
you  longe,  let  your  arm  be  perfectly  straight,  but  as 
your  foil  tip  strikes  the  mark  (or  probably  somewhere 
near  it,  or  maybe  not  so  very  near  it  either),  raise  your 
hand  very  slightly  toward  the  left  so  that  the  foil  will 
bend  well  upward,  and  that  you  can  see  its  point  to 
the  right  of  your  hand.  Dwell  at  the  end  of  the  longe, 
to  be  sure  that  your  left  leg  is  straight,  that  your  left 


FENCING.  163 

foot  has  not  moved,  that  your  right  foot  is  at  right 
angles  to  and  in  line  with  it,  and  to  strengthen  your 
muscles.  It  is  well  to  longe  in  quarte  until  you  are 
perfect  in  it.  Then  you  may  longe  in  tierce,  which,  as 
you  already  know,  is  a  position  similar,  but  with  the 
foil  held  nails  downward.  In  longeing  tierce,  raise 
your  hand  very  slightly  to  the  right  so  that  the  foil 
will  bend  upward,  and  you  can  see  your  tip  to  the  left 
of  your  hand. 

We  will  now  assume  that  you  and  Tom  have  gone 
through  these  exercises  long  enough  not  to  get  flurried 
and  forget  what  you  are  about  when  you  face  each 
other.  You  have  each  a  mask,  jacket,  and  glove. 
Your  tennis  shoes  will  be  just  what  you  want  to  fence 
in.  Never,  under  any  circumstances,  fence  without 
mask  and  jacket.  With  them,  you  are  perfectly  safe; 
without  them,  accidents  may  happen.  Foils  will  often 
break,  and  even  the  thud  of  a  foil  may  give  quite  a 
bruise. 

Now  stand  up  in  front  of  each  other,  so  that  if  your 
arms  be  extended  when  standing,  as  in  Fig.  5,  your 
foil  tips  will  touch  each  other's  hilts,  which  is  about 
"longeing  distance" — foils  in  quarte  on  the  right  or 
inner  side  of  your  adversary's  blade.     Look  each  other 


164  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

straight  in  the  eye.  You  must  by  no  means  indulge 
in  loose  play,  for  until  you  are  perfect  in  the  details 
nothing  will  spoil  what  you  have  learned  so  quickly. 
Each  must  be  the  other's  target  for  a  while.  Touch 
blades  about  the  middle  with  a  slight  feel,  but  not  a 
pressure  requiring  much  strength.  The  hilt  half  of 
your  foil  is  called  the  forte  (strong) ;  the  tip  half  the 
foible  (weak).  Now,  Dick,  you  see  that  if  you  longe 
straight  at  Tom's  breast  before  he  can  parry,  mean- 
while bending  your  wrist  very  slightly  to  the  left,  as 
you  did  when  longeing  at  the  wall — this  is  what  is 
called  "opposition" — you  will  not  only  reach  his 
breast,  but  push  his  blade  out  of  the  line  of  your  own 
body.  Do  this  slowly,  and  you  will  see;  thus  your 
thrust  has  been  both  attack  and  defence.  But  if  you, 
Tom,  are  quick  enough  to  see  what  Dick  is  about,  and 
move  the  point  of  your  foil  by  a  simple  turn  of  the 
wrist  over  toward  your  left  and  forward,  nails  still  up 
(Fig.  11),  Dick's  blade  will  glide  harmlessly  past  you, 
for  the  forte  of  your  blade  opposed  the  foible  of  his. 
This  longe  by  Dick  is  in  quarte,  and  yours  is  a  parry 
of  quarte.  Suppose  you,  Dick,  make  a  dozen  such 
longes  at  Tom.  At  first,  Tom,  let  him  prod  you  three 
or  four  times.     So !     Not  too  fast.     Exactness  before 


FENCING.  165 

Speed.  And  dwell  at  the  end  of  the  longe  to  test  your 
accuracy.  Next,  you,  Tom,  will  parry.  See  how  easy 
it  is !  Now,  Tom  will  longe  in  his  turn ;  and  do  you, 
Dick,  after  standing  a  few  prods,  parry  in  the  same 
manner.  When  you  have  acquired  the  proper  motion, 
try  to  longe  quicker  and  quicker,  and  yet  quicker,  and 
to  recover  immediately.  Try  to  parry  with  the  small- 
est motion  which  will  turn  aside  the  longeing  blade. 
The  smaller  the  motion  the  less  force  it  needs,  and  the 
cleaner  the  work.     Good  ! 

I  want  you,  boys,  to  study,  understand,  and  do 
just  what  I  have  told  you,  and  nothing  more,  for  the 
present.  And  if  you  will  practise  this  assiduously, 
you  will  become  quite  expert  at  it  before  we  meet 
again. 


III. 


Now,  boys,  I  have  no  doubt  that  since  my  last  arti- 
cle you  have  been  hard  at  work.  I  shall  assume  that 
your  guard  is  accurate,  and  that  you  can  longe  and 
parry   quarte  with  rapidity  and  steadiness.     Fall  on 


166  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

guard.  You  will  notice  that  a  man's  foil  divides  his 
body  by  a  perpendicular  line  into  two  halves,  as  it 
Avere.  The  quarte  half  is  the  "inner  line"  of  engage- 
ment or  attack;  the  "outer  line"  is  called  tierce.  In- 
stead of  quarte,  suppose  we  engage  in  tierce,  foils  on 
the  left  of  each  other  in  precisely  the  same  fashion, 
except  that  your  nails  will  be  down  instead  of  up.  In 
all  defences  the  palm  of  the  hand  is  toward  the  oppos- 
ing foil.  Now,  Dick,  you  have  already  longed  tierce 
at  the  wall,  and  can  do  so  at  Tom's  breast,  with  the 
same  precautions  to  insure  accuracy.  You,  Tom,  will 
see  that  if  you  turn  your  wrist  sidewise,  and  move 
your  point  to  the  right  slightly  (Fig.  1), 
Master  Dick's  foil  will  glide  past  instead  of 
prodding  you.  And  however  quick  he  may 
be,  your  hand,  having  less  distance  to  go, 
ought  to  be  quicker  than  his.  With  the 
illustrations  you  will  understand  this  read- 
Harper*       ily.     And  until  each  of  vou  can  lonare  and 

Younir  People.  "^  ^  O 

Copvriglit,  I8f8,  by  .  „  .  ,  , 

Harper  &  Brothers.     paiTy  quartc  aud  tierce  to  periection,  don  t 

try  to  do  anything  else. 

But  even  this,  though  difficult,  you  will  master  after 

a  while,  and  not  only  know  how  it  should  be  done, 

but  be  so  true   that   you   can't  do  it  otherwise  than 


FENCING.  167 

accurately,  that  your  body  and  limbs  can't  help  exe- 
cuting the  motions  just  right.  Now  let  us  take 
another  step.  Engage  in  quarte.  You,  Dick,  have 
tried  so  hard  to  touch  Tom's  breast  without  succeed- 
ing, for  his  parry  is,  as  it  should  be,  quicker  than  your 
longe,  that  you  want  to  find  some  other  way  to  "get 
there."  Suppose  you  draw  your  foil  sidewise  away 
from  Tom's,  and  give  a  sharp — not  violent — beat 
against  its  foible,  just  enough  to  displace  it,  and  at  the 
next  instance  longe  straight  at  his  breast,  thus: 
"Beat!  Longe!"  There,  you  see,  Tom  was  taken 
unawares,  his  defence  was  beaten  down,  and  before  he 
could  get  back  to  a  parry,  you  were  in.  Try  it  again. 
Ah,  Tom,  that's  a  good  trick,  isn't  it?  You've  got  to 
be  sharp  to  parr}^  that.  Hold  hard,  boys!  don't  get 
wild!  A  beat  must  be  quick,  decisive,  but  self-con- 
tained. Your  foil  must  not  leave  the  front  of  your 
body.  If  it  does,  your  opponent  will  prod  you  surely. 
All  foil-work  must  be  by  smallest  movements  of  the 
wrists.  Now,  Tom,  your  turn.  "Beat!  Longe!" 
There  you  are !  Dick,  you  see,  is  no  quicker  than  you 
were.  The  beat  is  a  ready  means  of  opening  the 
opponent's  guard.  In  tierce  it  is  precisely  the  same. 
Practise  it  slowly,  carefully;    then  faster  and  faster. 


168  RIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

until  the  longe  comes  like  a  flash  upon  the  beat.  The 
parry  is  the  same,  but  you  have  to  get  your  foil  back  to 
its  place  first.  Be  on  the  lookout  for  beats — in  fencing 
as  well  as  in  real  life. 

But  there  are  other  ways  to  get  in.  On  guard  again, 
in  quarte.  Now,  Tom,  we  will  set  Dick  up  for  a  tar- 
get. Examine  his  position.  His  pressure  on  your  foil 
prevents  your  thrusting  quarte  with  any  chance  of 
success.  Let  us  see.  While  Dick's  quarte  side  is  well 
protected,  the  tierce  side  is  open,  and  you  might  get  in 
there.  Suppose  you  slowly  drop  the  point  of  your 
foil,  and  by  a  small  circular  movement  under  Dick's 
hand  you  come  into  tierce,  and  having  got  there, 
"Longe!"  This  is  entirely  simple.  Try  it  again. 
You,  Dick,  stand  quiet.  See  how  easy  it  is.  The 
movement  is  called  a  disengagement.  Now  once  again, 
and  slowly.  "  Disengage  !  "  "^  Steady  !  "  What  ought 
you,  Dick,  to  do  before  Tom  longes  ?  Ah,  I  thought 
you  could  guess.  Turn  your  wrist,  come  into  tierce 
yourself,  oppose  Tom's  blade,  and  as  he  longes,  parry 
in  tierce.  Nothing  simpler.  Now  try  that  once  more, 
Tom,  a  trifle  quicker.  Don't  parry  this  time,  Dick. 
On  guard  in  quarte.  "Disengage!  Longe  !  "  And  in 
you  are.  Back  to  quarte.  Once  again,  and  quicker. 
"  Disengage  !     Longe !  "     Good  ! 


FENCING.  169 

Now,  Dick,  do  you  follow  his  disengagement  by 
shifting  to  tierce,  and  when  he  longes,  parry.  So, 
good  !  The  first  rule  of  the  foils  is  to  defend  your- 
self ;  the  next,  to  attack.  The  best  fencer  is  he  whose 
defence  is  perfect.  Now  change  roles.  Do  you,  Dick, 
disengage  and  longe;  and  after  a  few  prods,  do  you, 
Tom,  parry.  Well  done.  Let  us  disengage  from 
tierce  to  quarte.  Fall  on  guard  in  tierce.  Now,  Tom, 
what  you  do  is  precisely  the  reverse.  When  I  give 
the  word,  bring  down  the  point  of  your  foil  by  as  small 
a  circle  as  you  can  under  Dick's  hand,  turning  your 
wrist  meanwhile  to  come  into  quarte,  and  straighten- 
ing your  arm  for  the  longe.  You,  Dick,  remain  sta- 
tionary. Now,  ''Disengage!  Longe!"  Good!  you 
see  how  it  is  done.  When  you  parry,  Dick,  you  take 
the  position  of  Fig.  11  in  my  previous  article. 

All  this  is  quite  a  step  in  advance.  We  have  a  good 
guard,  can  longe  straight  and  true,  and  know  what  a 
beat  and  a  disengagement  are.  These  two  simple 
disengagements  should  be  practised  as  much  as  the 
other  things — perhaps  more — and  you  must  make 
your  circles  as  small  as  possible  to  save  time.  The 
veriest  fraction  of  a  second  is  most  precious  with  the 
foils. 


170  BIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

I  want  you  boys  to  assimilate  all  that  I  tell  you.  If 
you  have  studied  physiology,  you  will  know  what  I 
mean .  A  number  of  my  rider  pupils  have  become  cap- 
ital horsemen,  and  I  want  3'ou  boys,  if  you  try  at  all, 
really  to  learn  to  fence.  So  when  I  say  practise,  I 
mean  practise  every  separate  movement  so  patiently 
that  you  will  become  perfect  in  it,  and  not  know  how 
to  do  it  wrong. 

What  next?  Well,  another  disengagement,  but  this 
time  a  double  one.  You,  Dick,  have  found  out  that 
Tom  is  quick  enough  to  follow  your  simple  disengage- 
ment from  quarte  to  tierce  and  prevent  3'our  getting 
in.  Let  us  try  to  bother  him.  Now,  Tom,  you  may 
parry  this,  if  you  can.  "On  guard!"  It  is  generally 
understood  that  one  falls  on  guard  in  quarte.  You, 
Dick:  "Disengage!"  Good,  but  Tom  has  followed 
you,  and  is  in  tierce  at  once.  But  suppose  you  disen- 
gage again  quickly,  so  as  to  get  back  to  quarte,  and 
"  Longe ! "  There  you  are,  fairly  in  on  Tom's  breast. 
You  see  Tom  wasn't  up  to  this  new  dodge.  Such  a 
double  disengagement  is  called  the  one-two;  and,  as 
you  see,  the  one  is  a  feint,  and  the  two  the  real  attack. 
This  is  a  pretty  thing,  rapid,  neat  and  effective.  The 
defence  is  to  follow  it  up  and  not  parry  till  the  longe 


FENCING.  171 

comes.  Remember  that  the  wrist  is  to  turn  to  tierce 
and  quarte  as  you  disengage,  and  the  like  applies  to 
the  parries.  Not  only  is  there  a  one-two,  but  a  one- 
two-three  disengagement.  This,  starting  at  quarte, 
would  bring  you  back  to  tierce  again.  And  not  only 
a  one-two-three,  but  a  one-two,  one-two  disengagement. 
This  is  only  the  one-two,  twice  performed,  with  a  slight 
pause  between.  Practise  the  sefaithfully,  following 
each  disengagement  with  its  defence,  and  study  the 
illustrations  in  my  previous  article.  These  positions 
are  perfect. 

There  is  another  way  of  getting  from  the  inner  to 
the  outer  line,  or  vice  versa.  That  is  cutting  over. 
"  On  guard ! "  Now  by  an  easy  up-and-down  motion 
of  the  wrist,  altering  scarcely  at  all  the  position  of  the 
hand,  bring  your  foil  over  the  point  of  the  opposing 
foil,  keeping  near  it  all  the  while,  to  the  engagement 
of  tierce,  at  the  same  moment  extending  the  arm  and 
longeing.  Of  course  the  cut  over  is  met  by  exactly 
the  same  means  as  the  disengagement.  A  cut  over 
may  be  followed  by  a  disengagement  or  a  one-two,  or 
a  beat  may  be  followed  by  these.  The  skill  with 
which  one  combines  and  changes  these  motions  in  seek- 
ing an  opening  is  only  equalled  by  the  skill  shown  in 


172  RIDING,    DRIVING,   FENCING. 

meeting  each  one  by  its  proper  defence,  and  when  the 
longe  comes,  by  a  proper  parry. 

There  are  so  many  clever  things  in  fencing  that  I 
should  have  to  write  a  book  to  tell  you  much  about 
them.  I  have  space  but  for  one  or  two  more  hints. 
When  you  have  learned  what  I  have  told  you,  you  will 
be  quite  apt  with  the  foils,  if  you  work  with  precision 
and  speed.  And  then  you  will  take  up  some  manual 
and  study  the  art  more  deeply,  or  perhaps  find  some 
friend  who  can  teach  yon  what  remains  to  be  learned. 
Remember,  though,  that  nineteen  out  of  twenty  of  all 
the  attacks  in  fencing  are  simple  quarte  and  tierce, 
combined  with  the  disengagements,  the  beat,  and  the 
cut  over.  I  will  now  merely  mention  some  of  the 
other  engagements,  thrusts,  and  parries,  and  particu- 
larly the  return,  or  riposte. 

Suppose  you  are  on  guard  in  tierce.  Now,  Dick,  you 
know  that  you  cannot  reach  Tom  on  this  line;  he  has 
too  good  a  defence.  You  have  tried  the  disengage- 
ments, but  he  meets  them  every  time.  Let  us  try  a 
new  thing.  Don't  longe  in  tierce  above  his  hand,  but 
longe  helow  it.  There,  you  see,  he  has  nothing  to  pro- 
tect him,  and  you  can  prod  him  near  the  waist.  Now, 
Tom,  what  must  you  do?    If  you  lower  your  hand,  you 


FENCING. 


173 


expose  your  breast  as  well  as  disturb  your  position. 
But  you  can  bring  the  point  of  your  foil  downward  by 
a  small  semicircular  sweep  toward  the  right,  so  that 
the  foil  will  hang  below  instead  of  above  the  hand 
(Fig.  2),  and  thus  ward  off  the  longe,  and  at  once  re- 
turn to  your  old  guard.  This  is  the  longe  and  parry 
of  seconde. 

Again,  suppose  you  are  on  guard  in  quarte.  Now, 
Tom,  do  you  slowly  thrust,  still 
on  this  line,  but  heloio  Dick's 
hand.  You  can  reach  him 
there.  How  will  you,  Dick, 
avoid  this  thrust  ?  By  a  sweep 
downward   and    to   the    left. 


From  iiarper'9        ^"t   lustcad    of   comlug   back 

Youug  People. 
Copyright,  18»8,  by  •  1  • 

HaV^r 4  Brothers,      agam,  you  may  keep  on  m  a 

Fig.  2. 


From  Harper'a 

Youns  People. 

ropyriffhM8S8, 

by  Harper  h 

Brothers. 

Fig.  3. 


circular  upward  sweep,  and,  as 
it  were,  pick  up  Tom's  foil  and  throw  it  off.  Fig.  3 
shows  the  end  of  this  movement,  which  is  the  parry 
of  semicircle. 

Thus  we  have  learned  the  longe  on  inner  upper  line 
and  parry  of  quarte,  the  longe  on  outer  upper  line  and 
parry  of  tierce,  the  longe  on  outer  lower  line  and  parry 
of  seconde,  the  longe  on  inner  lower  line  and  parry  of 


174  KIDING,    DRIVING,    FENCING. 

semicircle.  There  is  another  series  called  counter- 
parries.  Suppose  Tom  is  engaging  you  in  quarte,  and 
with  a  purpose  to  attack  leaves  your  blade;  you  do 
not  know  whether  he  will  drop  his  point  down  below 
your  hand  and  longe,  or  continue  on  to  seconde,  or  still 
on  to  tierce.  Now  if,  instead  of  waiting  his  extension, 
so  as  to  parry  it,  you  will,  at  the  instant  you  feel  the 
absence  of  his  blade,  quickly  follow  it  by  a  complete 
but  small  circular  sweep,  you  will  reach  it,  pick  it  up, 
and  harmlessly  throw  it  aside  on  the  inner  line,  just  as 
if  there  had  been  a  simple  longe.  A  similar  counter- 
parry  can  be  made  from  any  of  the  positions,  and  is 
very  effective.  My  old  master.  Captain  Chiosso,  used 
to  shut  his  eyes,  and  by  a  counter-parry  prevent  any 
but  advanced  pupils  from  touching  him,  merely  follow- 
ing the  blade  up  as  soon  as  he  felt  its  absence. 

All  these  thrusts  and  parries,  combined  with  the  dis- 
engagements, beat  and  cut  over,  and  some  few  things 
too  intricate  to  learn  now,  complete  the  fencer's  equip- 
ment. They  have  taken  but  a  few  minutes  to  explain; 
they  will  take  many  months  to  learn,  and  you  may 
keep  on  improving  all  your  life. 

Now  about  returns.  You  will  have  noticed,  Dick, 
that  when  Tom  has  longed  at  you  in  quarte,  he  was  for 


FENCING.  175 

tlie  moment  uncovering  himself  to  a  thrust  in  quarte. 
Of  this  you  were  unable  to  take  advantage,  because 
you  must  first  parry.  But  having  parried,  which  act 
still  farther  pushed  Tom's  foil  away  from  his  defence, 
while  he  is  recovering  you  have  but  to  sharply  extend 
your  arm  in  order  to  plant  your  button  on  his  breast. 
This  thrust  immediately  following  a  parry  is  called  a 
return,  or  riposte.  If  Tom  recovers  with  rapidity,  you 
may  have  to  longe  to  reach  him.  But  in  all  cases  there 
is  no  time  so  opportune  for  reaching  your  opponent  as 
the  instant  after  a  successful  parry.  The  art  of  making 
quick  and  accurate  returns  is  one  of  the  most  important 
parts  of  fencing.  This  needs  practice  most  of  all.  But 
be  sure  that  you  do  not  unsteady  your  proper  position, 
and  that  your  work  is  all  done  in  crisp  style.  A  series 
of  returns  between  two  good  fencers  is  most  artistic. 
When  you  have  riposted  on  Tom,  Tom  can  parry  and 
return  on  you,  and  so  on.  And  the  return  may  be 
accompanied  by  any  of  the  feints.  But  remember  one 
thing :  the  simple  parries  and  longes  well  executed  are 
by  far  the  surest  defence  as  well  as  the  most  dangerous 
attack. 

One  thing  more.     If  you  merely  want  a  little  fun, 
you   can  indulge  in  loose  play  as  much  as  you  like. 


176  EIDING,    DEIVING,    FENCING. 

But  if  you  wish  to  become  an  expert  fencer,  you  must 
honestly  practise  at  least  four  hours  for  every  half- 
hour's  loose  play.  Nothing  is  so  apt  to  produce  bad 
habits  as  too  much  of  this.  The  best  fencers  are  al- 
ways constant  in  practice.  Some  of  the  most  noted 
swordsmen  in  France  practise  all  the  time  under  in- 
structors, and  play  loose  only  on  rare  occasions. 


CRITICAL  ESTIMATES 

OF 

COLONEL  DODGE'S  BOOKS 


The  Campaign  of  Chancellorsville 

BY 

THEODORE  ATBAULT  DODGE,  United  Statbs  Arsct. 


One  Volume.    8-ro.    $3.00. 


With /our  large  topographical  maps  (.colored),  showing  the  natural  and  artificial 

features  of  the  theatre  of  operations,  and  the  positions  of  the  various  Federal 

and  Confederate  corps,  at  different  periods  of  the  conflict. 


NOTICES. 

"The  work  is  meaot  to  be  a  contribution  to  scientific  military  criticism,  and  It  1b 
that  and  something  more.  It  is  a  detailed  history  of  the  most  anomalous  of  the  mili- 
tary operations  of  the  war,  a  minute,  accurate,  and  fair  exposition  of  the  strategy 
employed  ou  both  sides,  and  a  singularly  graphic  account  of  a  battle  which  for 
picturesqueness  is  scarcely  surpassed  by  any  affair  in  ancient  or  modern  times. 
.  .  .  .  We  have  so  frequently  censured  both  Northern  and  Southern  writers  for 
partisanship  of  feeling,  for  rancor  and  ill-temper  in  treating  of  events  of  the  war, 
that  we  cannot  omit  to  say  a  word  in  praise  of  this  author's  admirable  spirit.  From 
first  to  last  he  is  impartial,  not  only  in  his  statements  of  fact,  but  equally  in  his 
Incidental  comments  upon  the  character  of  officers  and  the  conduct  of  troops  on  either 
side.  His  faith  in  the  righteousness  of  the  Union  cause  is  implicit;  but  it  does  not  in 
the  least  blind  him  to  the  perfect  sincerity  and  devotion  of  the  Southerners.  His  admi- 
ration for  the  high  character,  the  soldierly  qualities,  and  the  heroic  spirit  of  the 
officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Union  is  enthusiastic;  but  he  manifests  a  generous 
enthusiasm  of  admiration  also  for  the  character  and  genius  of  Lee,  Jackson  and  Stuart, 
and  for  the  courage,  endurance,  and  spirit  of  the  Confederate  veterans." — New  York 
Evening  Post. 

"  It  is  not  easy  to  say  what  part  of  this  book  is  best,  for  it  is  all  good.  .  .  .  The 
book  is  the  production  of  a  man  with  a  clear  military  head,  who  seems  to  have 
possessed  himself  completely  of  his  subject.  The  student  of  military  history  will  find 
It  very  valuable,  and  the  general  reader  will  find  it  interesting  in  the  extreme." — 
The  Nation. 

"  The  work  is  a  real  contribution  to  the  history  of  the  war,  and  deserves  a  hearty 
reception."  —  Boston  Advertiser. 

"Among  the  best  of  the  numerous  contributions  to  the  history  of  the  war."  — 
Chicago  Tribune. 

"  The  book  is  thoroughly  well  done"  —  Literary  World. 

"  He  has  performed  his  task  with  conspicuous  fairness,  fidelity,  and  success."  — 
Army  and  Navy  Journal. 

"We  do  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  it  one  of  the  ablest,  fairest,  and  most  valuable 
books  that  we  have  seen."  — Southern  Historical  Papers. 

"  For  this  valuable  service  he  is  entitled  to  the  thanks  of  military  readers."  — Journal 
ffthe  Military  Service  Institution. 

"  Of  prime  historical  value."  —  Atlanta  Constitution. 

"  As  interesting  as  a  novel."  —  Providence  Press. 

"  A  very  clear  and  straightforward  account." —  Cincinnati  Gazette. 

"  The  author  has  done  his  work  with  judgment  unusually  impartial,  and  ability 
much  above  the  average."  —  Philadephia  Times. 

"  It  will  attract  the  attention  of  readers  by  the  careful  study  which  it  presents  ol 
allaphases  of  the  movement,  and  by  the  apparent  purpose  to  be  just  to  all  concerned." 
—  Boston  Journal. 

"  Not  only  all  soldiers  who  participated  in  the  campaign  will  be  interested  in  it,  bat 
J  students  of  American  history  as  well."  —  Pittsburgh  Telegraph. 

For  sale  by  all  Booksellers.    Sent,  prepaid,  on  receipt  of  the  price,  by  the  Publishers, 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN   AND    COMPANY. 


A  BIED'S-EYE  VIEW 

OF 

OUR    OIYIL   WAR 

BT 

THEODORE   AYRAULT  DODGE, 

United  States  Army. 

One    Volume,  Octavo,  with  Four  Maps  and  Thirty-eight  Battle-Plans.     fS.OO. 

In  one  volume,  in  easy  chapters,  and  so  illnatrated  by  battle-charts  and  maps  that 
the  layman  as  readily  follows  the  current  of  events  as  the  soldier,  Colonel  Dodge  has 
given  us  a  concise  and  entirely  impartial  history  of  the  war;  and  by  casting  aside  un- 
important detail,  one  which  is  comprehensive  and  full  of  suggestiveness. 

The  object,  conduct,  and  results  of  each  larger  campaign  are  critically  explained,  and 
the  salient  qualities  of  every  army  commander  of  North  and  South  are  vividly  per- 
trayed.  The  strategic  and  tactical  manoeuvres  are  clearly  pointed  out,  but  in  so  simple 
a  manner  as  not  to  confuse  the  non-military  reader. 

Marginal  dates  and  accurate  statistics  of  numbers  engaged  or  lost  on  either  side 
make  it  a  valuable  work  of  reference.  An  original  glossary  of  military  terms  used, 
and  a  copious  index,  complete  the  volume. 

The  book  is  necessary  to  every  American  library,  and  is  especially  recommended  for 
higher  schools.  It  is  the  only  history  of  the  war  in  one  volume  which  can  be  relied  on 
to  give  an  entirely  impartial,  accurate,  and  easily  understood  narrative  of  the  great 
Btruggle. 

"  The  author  is  well  equipped  for  his  work,  which  he  has  executed  with  conscien- 
tious fidelity.  The  book  is  written  in  a  spirit  of  impartiality  and  of  just  discrimlna. 
tion  concerning  the  merits  and  defects  of  the  generals  who  led  the  armies  of  the  North 
and  South."  —  Army  and  Navy  Journal. 

"  It  is  really  an  important  popular  work,— popular,  that  ie  to  say,  in  the  good  sense." 
—  New  York  Times. 

"  In  a  word,  his  book  is  a  model  of  good  taste  and  iutelligence.  The  book  should  be 
placed  in  every  school  library."  —  Boston  Advertiser. 

"  The  style  is  simple  and  clear,  the  tone  elevated  and  fair,  the  conception  of  military 
operations  comprehensive,  and  the  criticisms  on  them  judicious.  The  book  is  evl- 
dently  as  much  the  work  of  an  experienced  soldier  as  of  a  well-informed  author."  — 
Nation. 

"  We  were  prepared  to  find  a  well-written,  calm,  and  unusually  fair  book;  we  have 
not  been  disappointed,  .  .  .  and  we  do  not  hesitate  to  commend  the  book  most 
Warmly  as  the  work  of  an  able,  painstaking  soldier,  who  has  honestly  endeavored  to 
tacertain  and  frankly  to  tell  the  truth  about  the  war."  —  Southern  Historical  Papers. 

"  A  remarkably  clear,  concise,  and  readable  history,  suited  to  the  wants  of  the 
adult  civilian  reader.  The  comments  upon  strategy,  tactics,  and  the  characteristics  of 
prominent  generals,  although  terse,  are  always  weighty  and  suggestive.  Its  most  con- 
epiciious  merit  is  its  clearness."  —  New  York  Tribune. 

"  A  very  useful  and  attractive  volume.  The  material  of  the  work  well  serves  to 
consolidate  and  orient  the  knowledge  of  what  was  done  in  the  Great  Rebellion,  and  of 
those  who  did  it."  — Jouriial  Military  Service  Institution. 

"  The  object  has  been  admirably  attained.    Col.  Dodge's  short,  crisp  sentences,  and 
his  pen-pictures,  done  with  a  free  hand,  make  the  volume  very  interesting  reading. 
The  work  is  thoroughly  done,  and  as  fair  as  it  is  able."  —  Manhattan. 
For  sale  by  Booksellers.     Sent,  postpaid,  on  receipt  of  the  price,  by  the  I^iblishert, 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN   AND    COMPANY. 


PATROCLUS  AND  PENELOPE: 

A  CHAT  IN  THE   SADDLE. 


^Vm^ 


^fi^i^^ffi^ 


--r'/'-07r. 


From  the  Instantaneous  Photograph  of  Patroclus  and  Owner. 
BY 

THEODOEE  AYRAULT  DODGE, 

BBEVHT  LIEUTENANT-COLONEL    UNITED     STATES    ARMY    (RETIKED  LIST)  ;    AUTHOR  OF 

'    THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  CHANCELLORSVILLE,"     "  A  BIED'S-ETE  VIEW 

OF  THE    CIVIL    WAB,"    ETC.,   ETC. 


PATROCLUS  AND  PENELOPE: 

A  CHAT  IN  THE  SADDLE. 


Since  —  as  it  has  been  our  fortune  to  be  long  engaged  about  horses 

—  we  consider  that  we  have  acquired  some  knowledge  of  horsemanship ; 
we  desire  also  to  intimate  to  the  younger  part  of  our  friends  how  we 
think  that  they  may  bestow  their  attention  on  horses  to  the  best  advantage. 

—  Xenophon  on  Horsemanship. 

This  book  is  writtenfrom  an  experience  extending  over  thirty  years,  — 
in  the  English  hunting  field,  the  Prussian  army,  the  plains  of  the  West, 
active  service  during  the  Civil  War,  and  daily  riding  everywhere.  The 
author  has  studied  equestrianism  as  an  art,  and,  though  believing  in 
the  Haute  Rcole  of  Baucher,  enjoys  with  equal  zest  a  ride  to  hounds  or  a 
galop  on  the  Western  prairies. 

The  experienced  equestrian  will  be  delighted  by  the  author's  breezy  talk 
and  thorough  knowledge  of  his  subject.  The  young  horseman  who  may 
have  purchased  a  colt  just  broken  to  harness  can  by  the  use  of  its  hints 
make  him  as  clever  as  Patroclus.  Even  the  man  who  rides  hut  a  dozen 
times  a  year  will  be  interested  in  the  book,  while  the  every-day  reader 
will  be  charmed  by  its  simplicity,  geniality,  and  heartiness. 


AMERICAN    NOTICES. 

Col.  Dodge  has  given  the  beginner  in  the  art  of  horsemanship  the 
best  possible  introduction  to  his  pleasurable  task.  The  author  has  had  a 
much  wider  store  of  practical  experience  in  horsemanship  than  his  pre- 
decessors in  this  field  of  instruction.  —  N'ew  York  Evening  Post. 

The  practical  horseman  cannot  fail  to  admire  the  firm,  easy  seal 
which  the  beginner  will  do  well  to  copy  :  "  Patroclus  "  is  ably  described, 
and,  if  up  to  what  is  said  of  him,  must  be  a  gem  of  the  first  water.  — 
New  York  Times. 

It  is  written  in  a  frank,  refined,  and  genial  style  that  is  peculiarly  in- 
gratiating; while  underlying  this  is  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  subject 
treated.  —  Dial  (Chicago) . 

Col.  Dodge's  book  is  liberalizing.  It  may  be  both  warmly  and  safely 
commended  to  all  lovers  of  horses  and  to  all  who  ride.  — Atlantio 
Monthly. 

Col.  Dodge  is  an  expert  in  all  the _/i7ies«c  and  paraphernaUa  of  horses 
and  horseback-riding.  .  .  .  The  advice  is  sound  and  simple,  and  very 
direct.  —  The  Critic  (New  York). 


It  abounds  in  excellent  suggestions,  the  fruit  of  sound  experience, 
accurate  observations,  and  good  common-sense.  It  is  an  excellent  book 
for  the  amateur.  Withal  it  is  told  in  a  pleasant,  easy  way,  as  if  it  had 
been  written  in  the  saddle  instead  of  at  the  desk.  —  Christian  Register 
(Boston). 

The  chapters  on  the  training  of  horse  and  rider  are  full  of  sound  infor- 
mation, clearly  stated,  and  practical  to  the  last  degree.  —  Journal  of 
Military  Service  Institution  (New  York). 

A  lover  of  horses  will  find  in  this  volume  a  book  which  will  give  him 
unlimited  pleasure.  —  The  Book-Buyer  (New  York). 

This  book  will  be  given  an  enthusiastic  welcome  by  all  lovers  of  eques- 
trianism. —  Chicago  Journal. 

The  hearty  animal  spirits  which  galop  through  its  pages  are  catching. 
—  New  York  Mail  and  Express. 

Col.  Dodge  is  a  charming  teacher.  —  Boston  Herald. 


ENGLISH    NOTICES. 

Col.  Dodge  has  a  right  to  offer  himself  as  an  authority  on  horseman- 
ship. .  .  .  We  recommend  Col.  Dodge's  work  as  one  of  the  most 
important  and  valuable  treatises  upon  the  art  of  riding  that  we  have  in 
our  language.  —  Saturday  Review  (London). 

Amongst  experts  Col.  Dodge  enjoys  the  reputation  of  being  one  of 
the  very  first  horsemen.  .  .  .  The  book  is  not  one  to  be  read 
through  and  put  aside,  but  to  be  kept  on  a  convenient  shelf  for  reference. 
—  Illustrated  Sporting  and  Dramatic  News  (London). 

Col.  Dodge  has  handled  his  subject  with  an  ability  beyond  the  average, 
and  is  also  very  amusing  in  his  lectures.  —  Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

A  very  learned  and  charming  book.  We  may  very  well  recommend 
it  as  a  delightful  one  to  all  who  care  for  horses.  —  London  Graphic. 

The  spirit  of  a  sportsman  pervades  it  throughout.  There  is  very 
much  that  is  worth  reading  and  thinking  over.  — •  The  Field  (London). 

Published  in  two  styles.  Illustrated  with  fowrteen  phototypes  of  the 
horse  in  motion,  one  volume,  octavo,  gilt  top,  half  roan,  $3.00.  Illus- 
trated with  foui'teen  drawings  by  Gray  Parker  from  the  instantaneoua 
photographs,  12mo,  half  roan,  $1.25. 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN,  &  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS- 


Critical  Estimates  of  Colonel  Dodge's  Books 


GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

A   COURSE   OF   SIX   LECTURES 

Shoiving  the  Influence  on  the  Art  of  War  of  the  Campaigns  of 
Alexander,  Hannibal,  CcBsar,  Gustavus  Adolphus,  Fred- 
erick, and  Napoleon.     8vo,  219  pp.,  %2.00. 

By  THEODORE  AYRAULT  DODGE, 

brevet  Lieutenant-Colonel  United  States  Army. 


These  Lectures  were  delivered  before  the  Lowell  Institute  in  Boston. 


The  conciseness  and  sharpness  of  these  pictures  make  them  very  effec- 
tive, and  we  know  not  where  else  to  find  in  anything  like  the  same  compass 
accounts  of  the  eminent  commanders  here  considered  which  convey  an 
equally  complete  and  intelligible  conception  of  them.  —  N.  Y.  Tribune. 

They  (the  great  captains)  become  as  real  to  the  reader  as  if  Plutarch 
•were  his  guide  instead  of  an  American  veteran.  In  producing  this  effect 
the  hook  is  almost  alone  among  modern  historical  studies.  —  Boston  Herald. 

The  best  informed  can  hardly  rise  from  a  perusal  of  his  pages  without  a 
sense  of  having  gained  wonderfully  in  the  clearness  of  his  vision  of  facts 
with  which  he  has  perhaps  long  been  familiar.  —  Boston  Advertiser. 

The  book  is  delightful  reading  for  laymen ;  at  the  same  time  no  officer 
can  study  it  without  getting  a  clearer  insight  into  the  higher  branches  of  his 
profession.  —  London  Graphic. 

Instead  of  long-drawn  commentaries,  he  interjects  pithy  remarks  and  crit- 
icisms which  at  times  approach  the  epigrammatic.  —  United  Service  Maga- 
zine. 

A  most  entertaining  and  instructive  description  of  the  character,  life,  and 
work  of  the  six  great  captains  of  history.  —  Journal  Military  Service  Insti- 
tution. 


ALEXANDER. 

A  History  of  the  Origin  and  Growth  of  the  Art  of  War,  from  the 
Earliest  Times  to  the  Battle  of  Ipsus,  B.  c.  301  ;  with  a  detailed 
account  of  the  Campaigns  of  the  Great  Macedonian.  With  237 
Charts,  Maps,  Plans  of  Battles  and  Tactical  Manoeuvres,  Cuts  of 
Armor,  Uniforms,  Siege  Devices,  and  Portraits.  8vo,  two  volumes 
in  one,  pp.  xxiv,  692,  !$5.00. 

By  THEODORE  AYRAULT  DODGE, 

Brevet  Lieutenant-Colonel  United  States  Army. 


Colonel  Dodge  has  made  it  clear  in  this  well-written  book  that  there  was 
room  for  at  least  cue  more  study  of  the  great  Macedonian,  and  that  new 
light  could  be  thrown  upon  his  achievements  by  examining  them  from  a 
military  point  of  view.  The  observations  of  Colonel  Dodge  on  many  points 
of  military  science  are  pregnant  and  weighty.  —  N.  Y.  Tribune. 

Colonel  Dodge  points  out  with  great  skill  what  Alexander  was  as  a  great 
captain,  and  what  he  did  for  the  art  of  war.  This  book  is  of  the  deepest 
interest  to  those  who  wish  to  fully  comprehend  how  Alexander  conquered 
the  world.  —  Boston  Herald. 

We  cannot  name  an  author  who  can  describe  a  battle  so  clearly  and  sim- 
ply, make  the  object  of  manceu^Tes  so  plain,  the  reason  of  defeat  or  victory 
so  clearly  understood.  —  Boston  Advertiser. 

He  has  certainly  made  the  story  more  intelligible  than  did  his  less  mili- 
tary predecessoi-s,  not  only  by  his  admirable  and  abundant  maps  and  plans, 
but  by  the  clear  and  careful  narration  of  the  military  transactions.  —  Fhda- 
delphia  American. 

Colonel  Dodge  follows  Alexander  with  critical  analysis,  and  in  a  style 
specially  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  modern  reader.  —  Dial  (Chicago). 

A  book  of  much  interest  to  the  ordinary  reader  from  the  freshness  of  its 
matter  .  .  .  which  invites  perusal  from  the  outset. —  Christian  Union  (New 
York). 

It  is  the  first  work  which  has  treated  the  subject  in  such  perfect  detail 
and  with  such  a  profusion  of  aids  to  the  reader  in  the  way  of  maps  and 
illustrations.  — Boston  Transcript. 

American  scholarship  has  reason  to  be  proud  of  this  successful  inaugura- 
tion of  Colonel  Dodge's  great  undertaking.  —  Chicago  Evening  Journal. 

The  author's  work,  modest,  clear,  entertaining,  and  full  of  information, 
deserves  cordial  recognition  from  scholars  and  warm  praise  from  critics.  — 
Hartford  Courant. 

Creditable  to  the  unfaltering  industrj'  as  well  as  to  the  sagacity  of  its 
accomplished  author.  —  Boston  Beacon. 

The  style,  which  is  clear  and  interesting,  flows  on  with  a  certain  vividness 
which  carries  one  along  with  it  to  the  very  last  page  without  weariness  or 
disappointment.  —  N.  Y.  Critic. 

Nothing  apparently  has  escaped  his  research  in  ancient  records  or  mod- 
ern travel.  —  Christian  Begister. 

Colonel  Dodge  writes  out  of  so  fresh  an  interest  in  his  subject  that  he  is 
sure  to  find  interested  readers.  —  Atlantic  Jlfonthly. 

Colonel  Dodge  has  the  excellent  faculty  of  making  things  clear  in  no 
mean  degree.  —  London  Saturday  Review. 


A  work  of  immense  research  and  labor  and  prepared  with  unusual  intel- 
ligence and  ability.  —  Brooklyn  Standard-Union. 

The  book  reijresents  an  amount  of  research  and  labor  really  enormous.  — 
Boston  Courier. 

The  author's  accounts  of  Alexander's  campaigns  are  vivid,  jjicturesque, 
and  entertaining. — Book  Buyer. 

In  every  respect  creditable  to  the  industry  and  scholarship  of  the  author. 
—  Magazine  of  American  History. 

A  conspicuous  feature  of  the  book  is  the  historian's  perfect  fairness.  — ■ 
Public  Opinion. 

It  is  plain,  clear  history,  with  frequent  pithy  criticisms.  —  Liter-Ocean. 

A  remarkably  interesting  as  well  as  valuable  book.  —  Providence  Journal. 

A  well-digested  and  admirably  classified  work.  —  Philadelphia  Ledger. 

The  clearest  tale  of  military  history  we  have  ever  read.  —  American 
Grocer. 

The  book  is  interesting  on  every  page.  —  Journal  of  Mil.  Service  Inst. 

Vivid,  picturesque,  and  entertaining.  —  Minneapolis  Tribune. 


HANNIBAL. 


A  History  of  the  Art  of  War  among  the  Carthaginians  and  Romans, 
clown  to  the  Battle  of  Pydna,  168  b.  c.  ;  with  a  detailed  account 
of  the  Second  Punic  War.  With  227  Charts,  Maps,  Plans  of  Bat- 
tles and  Tactical  Manoeuvres,  Cuts  of  Armor,  Weapons,  and  Uni- 
forms.    8vo,  two  volumes  in  one,  pp.  xviii,  684,  .$5.00. 

By  THEODORE  AYRAULT  DODGE, 

Brevet  Lieutenant-Colonel  United  States  Army. 


Especial  praise  is  due  to  the  chapter  on  crossing  the  Alps  .  .  .  and  to  the 
general  summing  up  of  Hannibal's  character  and  career.  .  .  .  They  com- 
mend themselves  to  the  critic  ivora  the  first  word  to  the  last.  —  London 
Athetireum. 

Having  once  begun,  the  reader  does  not  wish  to  lay  down  the  volume 
until  he  closes  the  cover  on  the  last  page.  —  Journal  of  Mil.  Service  List. 

The  result  of  exhaustive  research  and  enthusiastic  interest  in  the  subject. 
—  N.  Y.  Critic. 

Colonel  Dodge  marshals  the  evidence  .  .  .  and  fills  out  the  story  with 
whatever  authentic  material  has  survived,  and  thus  gives  local  color  and  in- 
creased interest  to  the  whole.  —  N.  Y.  Nation. 

Colonel  Dodge  has  brought  to  his  task  a  very  thorough  preparation  and 
equipment.  .  .  .  The  accounts  of  Hannibal's  battles  and  sieges  and  marches 
are  clear  and  spirited.  —  N.  Y.  Tribune. 

The  book  is  an  example  of  how  life  can  be  infused  into  apparently  ex- 
hausted classical  themes  by  fresh  study  and  vigorous  presentation.  —  Prov- 
idence Journal. 

Colonel  Dodge's  views  are  carefully  considered  and  his  opinions  are  pre- 
sented with  clearness  and  force.  —  N.  Y.  Journal. 

Although  a  careful  historian,  the  author  is  also  a  graceful  and  forcible 
writer,  with  the  true  soldier's  faculty  of  expressing  himself  concisely.  — 
N.  Y.  Herald. 


An  interesting  feature  is  the  diligence  with  which  Colonel  Dodge  has  col- 
lected all  the  anecdotes  likely  to  throw  light  on  Hannibal's  personal  char- 
acter.—  Philadelphia  Book  News. 

So  clear  that  the  reader  who  knows  little  about  military  matters  finds 
himself  carried  forward  insensibly,  and  deeply  absorbed.  —  Boston  Courier. 

An  invaluable  addition  to  the  history  of  Rome.  It  settles  many  vexed 
questions,  and  sheds  light  on  many  obscure  problems.  —  Dial. 

Colonel  Dodge  can  tell  a  story  with  spirit,  and  he  has  a  sound  conception 
of  the  value  of  evidence.  — London  Saturday  Review. 

Certain  qualities  of  merit  are  plainly  evidenced,  —  patient  and  careful 
investigation  of  the  authorities,  and  a  balance  of  judgment  as  to  conflicting 
statements.  —  Christian  Union. 

The  style  is  strong  and  vigorous,  often  epigrammatical  .  .  .  the  work  in- 
dicates care  and  research.  —  Christian  Register. 

The  biograj)her  is  gifted  with  lively  powers  of  conception  and  execution. 
Hannibal  is  a  superb  piece  of  portraiture.  —  Philadelphia  Ledger. 

A  volume  substantially  new  in  its  study  of  this  master  in  the  art  of  war. 
—  Army  and  Navy  Journal. 

The  most  masterful  history  of  the  art  of  war  among  the  Carthaginians 
and  Romans  .  .  .  that  has  yet  commanded  the  exertions  of  any  writer.  — 
Brooklyn  Times. 

Vigorous  and  precise  without  being  overloaded  with  irrelevant  detail.  — 
Boston  Gazette. 

It  is  as  if  you  were  a  looker-on  while  Hannibal  is  maintaining  himself  in 
a  hostile  country.  —  Boston  Herald. 

No  romance  can  be  more  fascinating  than  this  remarkable  biography.  — 
Boston  Transcript. 

The  story  is  told  with  admirable  clearness  and  directness.  —  Hartford 
Courant. 

The  author  has  gone  to  work  in  the  true  way  of  investigation.  —  Chicago 
Journal. 

It  repays  over  and  over  again  a  careful  perusal.  —  American  Grocer. 

A  clearer  and  better  account  than  can  be  found  elsewhere. —  JJ.  S.  Cav- 
alry Association  Journal. 

The  author  is  particularly  fitted  to  his  task.  —  .S'aw  Francisco  Weekly. 

The  author  is  entitled  to  special  attention.  —  St.  Louis  Republican. 

The  author  shows  himself  an  impartial  judge.  — •  Springfield  Republican. 

Colonel  Dodge  is  an  acute  critic.  —  Boston  Beacon. 

The  outcome  of  careful  and  exhaustive  study.  —  N.  Y.  Sun. 

A  trustworthy  and  spirited  history.  —  Philadelphia  Press. 


CAESAR. 


A  History  of  the  Art  of  War  among  the  Romans,  from  the  Second 
Panic  War  down  to  the  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  ;  with  a  de- 
tailed account  of  the  Gallic  and  Civil  Wars.  With  275  Charts, 
Maps,  Plans  of  Battles  and  Tactical  Manoeuvres,  and  other  Cuts. 
8vo,  two  volumes  in  one,  pp.  xix,  792,  $5.00. 

By  THEODORE  AYRAULT  DODGE, 

Brevet  Lieutenant-Colonel  United  States  Army. 

The  thorough  knowledge  of  his  subject  shown  by  the  author,  the  forcible 
and  interesting  manner  in  which  he  presents  his  array  of  facts,  and  above 
all  his  evident  indefatigability  as  a  worker,  cannot  fail  to  excite  the  admi- 
ration of  his  readers.  — N.  Y.  Critic. 


The  distinguishing-  characteristic  of  this  excellent  series  is  the  extraordi- 
nary care  the  author  has  taken  to  make  each  volume  approximately,  as 
nearly  as  is  permitted  to  fallible  humanity,  the  standard  of  absolute  accu- 
racy. —  Public  Ojiinion. 

One  charm  of  Colonel  Dodge's  Great  Captains  Series  is  the  absolute  frank- 
ness with  which  he  makes  known  his  estimates  of  the  campaigns  and  the 
character  of  his  heroes.  —  N .  Y.  Times. 

The  portrait  of  Ctesar  has  often  been  drawn,  but  Colonel  Dodge  has  repro- 
duced it  in  singularly  lifelike  lines  and  colors.  —  N.  Y .  Sun. 

The  work  will  add  to  Colonol  Dodge's  reputation  as  a  clear  and  on  the 
whole  unprejudiced  writer  concerning  topics  which  appear  to  possess  pecul- 
iar difficulties.  —  N.  Y.  Independent. 

The  work  is  a  monument  of  patient  labor,  and  so  clear  in  style  and  free 
from  technicalities  as  to  make  it  a  popular  work.  —  American  Grocer. 

Colonel  Dodge's  Great  Captains,  when  complete,  will  be  an  enduring  mon- 
ument of  conscientious  study  and  industry.  —  Magazine  of  American  History. 

Again  we  have  to  praise  the  author's  unwearied  perseverance  in  tramping 
over  sites  of  battles.  —  London  Athemeum. 

Richness  of  resource,  vividness  of  portraiture,  and  candid  impartiality 
lend  to  this  work  a  fascination  which  holds  a  sustained  interest.  —  Minn. 
Tribune. 

The  author  has  added  to  his  reputation  as  a  military  historian  in  the 
present  work.  —  Brooklyn  Eagle. 

It  is  as  if  we  were  with  CaBsar  himself  and  looked  on  as  a  disinterested 
observer.  —  Boston  Herald. 

Colonel  Dodge's  series  .  .  .  has  already  taken  established  rank  among 
English  histories  of  ancient  wars.  —  N .  Y.  Nation. 

Colonel  Dodge  has  given  facts  in  which  the  ordinary  scholar  and  reader 
will  find  unusual  pleasure.  —  N.  Y.  Herald. 

A  model  of  clear  description  and  critical  military  analysis.  —  Boston 
Transcript. 

A  wonderful  amount  of  careful,  painstaking  research.  —  Boston  Adver- 
tiser. 

We  commend  the  whole  series,  judging  the  volumes  to  come  by  those  we 
have,  to  all  students.  —  Dial  (Chicago). 

Colonel  Dodge  convinces  us  that  he  understands  the  business  of  war.  — 
London  Saturday  Review. 

The  military  student  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  Colonel  Dodge.  —  Mili- 
itary  Service  Inst.  Journal. 

All  students  of  the  subject  will  want  to  possess  the  volume.  —  Hartford 
Courant. 

No  little  point  escapes  the  Argus  eyes  of  the  historian.  —  Pliiladelphia 
Ledger. 

Colonel  Dodge  is  well  fitted  to  give  freshness  to  the  old  story.  —  N.  Y. 
Evening  Post. 

A  vivid  picture  of  the  great  game  of  war.  —  Providence  Journal. 

Colonel  Dodge  has  certainly  fiilfilled  all  expectations.  —  iV^.   }'.  Herald. 

A  historian  of  broad  views  and  logical  opinions.  —  Boston  Beacon. 

Singular  clearness  and  accuracy.  —  Boston  Courier. 

One  of  the  most  profoundly  interesting  of  books.  —  Philadelphia  Press. 

His  criticisms  are  most  valuable.  —  Boston  Traveler. 


GUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS. 

A  History  of  the  Art  of  War  from  its  revival  after  the  Middle  Ages 
to  the  end  of  the  Spanish  Succession  War,  with  a  detailed  account 
of  the  Campaigns  of  the  great  Swede,  and  the  most  famous  Cam- 
paigns of  Turenne,  Condd,  Eugene,  and  Marlborough.  With  234 
Charts,  Maps,  Plans  of  Battles,  and  Tactical  Manoeuvres,  and  Cuts 
of  Uniforms  and  Weapons.  8vo,  two  volumes  in  one,  pp.  xxiv-868, 
$5.00. 

By  THEODORE   AYRAULT  DODGE, 
Brevet  Lieutenant-Colonel  United  States  Army. 


Colonel  Dodge's  series  of  Great  Captains  has  been  accepted  as  practically 
authoritative  on  the  subject  of  the  history  of  the  art  of  war,  and  this  fourth 
volume  is  unique  in  discussing-  the  period  it  covers  from  a  point  of  view 
which  has  not  heretofore  been  attempted,  making  it  in  that  way  doubly  val- 
uable. —  Journal  of  U.  S.  Military  Service  Institution. 

The  author  is  a  soldier  who  has  set  himself  the  task  of  describing  the  acts 
of  a  man  who  was  above  all  things  a  soldier,  and  everything  is  viewed  from 
the  standpoint  of  military  science.  The  work  is  a  magnificent  addition  to 
military  history,  and  a  worthy  companion  of  the  author's  Alexander,  Han- 
nibal, and  Csesar.  —  Public  Opinion,  Jan.  16,  189(5. 

The  "  Gustavus  Adolphus  "  is  the  fourth  of  the  important  series  of  mili- 
tary memoirs  from  Colonel  Dodge's  pen.  Each  lias  been  a  welcome  contri- 
bution to  military  history  in  English  dress.  The  last  is  not  least  in  the 
series,  for  a  satisfactory  connected  treatment  of  the  period  outlined  in  the 
title-page  has  not  been  easily  within  reach  of  the  English  reader.  — Nation, 
April  2,  1896. 

Full  of  most  interesting  and  clear  narration  of  military  campaigns.  The 
task  Colonel  Dodge  has  already  accomplished  in  his  four  volumes  might 
well  be  a  life  work  for  an  industrious  man.  The  present  one  is  an  advance 
on  the  earlier  ones  in  the  system  of  map  illustration.  —  N.  Y.  Evening  Post. 

A  marked  trait  of  Colonel  Dodge's  work  in  this  series,  which  makes  it 
most  interesting,  is  his  fondness  for  direct  comparisons  between  the  soldiers 
of  all  lands  and  times,  and  for  definitely  awarding  them  relative  places,  not 
only  in  specific  military  qualities  and  aptitudes,  but  in  their  military  great- 
ness as  a  whole.  The  clearness  of  his  own  views  on  these  points  is  supple- 
mented by  a  remai-kable  frankness  of  utterance  and  also  great  freedom  from 
prejudice.  Add  the  evidences  presented  both  by  the  text  and  the  cuts  of 
his  great  industry  in  study  and  in  the  collection  of  material,  and  the  value 
and  charm  of  these  works  can  be  understood.  —  New  York  Times. 

Little  else  than  favorable  criticism  can  be  offered.  In  this  series  is  found 
the  first  attempt  to  give  an  encyclopedic,  yet  systematic  and  logical  view  of 
just  such  facts  as  the  student  of  military  history  is  often  puzzled  about,  and, 
more  than  that,  puzzled  to  know  where  to  find  the  truth  concerning  them. 
These  volumes  will  surely  prove  valuable  for  reference,  and  in  that  respect 
the  well-earned,  scholarly  reputation  of  their  author  will  but  give  them 
additional  worth. —  Critic.  Feb.  15,  l!^96. 


Every  one  interested  in  the  study  of  the  Art  of  War  is  beholden  to  Colo- 
nel Dodge  for  the  work  he  is  doing-  in  setting-  forth  the  origin  and  develop- 
ment of  that  art  in  the  form  of  a  series  of  volumes  devoted  to  the  lives  and 
achievements  of  its  greatest  masters. 

His  work  has  a  value  which  the  separate  appreciation  of  its  component 
volumes  would  hardly  represent.  .  .  .  One  cannot  read  them  without  being 
impressed  with  the  author's  familiarity  with  the  subject  and  the  soundness 
of  his  military  judgments  and  criticisms. 

This  book  contains  a  great  deal  of  military  information  that  cannot  be 
found  in  any  other  single  one,  or  perhaps  in  any  number  of  books  short  of  a 
fair  sized  library.  It  is  a  valuable  work  of  reference  on  the  revival  of  the 
Art  of  War  after  the  Middle  Ages,  and  as  such  is  heartily  commended  to 
all  who  are  interested  in  that  subject.  —  American  Historical  Review,  Jan- 
uary, 1896. 

It  may  well  be  doubted  if  any  American  writer  in  the  department  of  mili- 
tary exposition  and  criticism  has  equaled  Colonel  Dodge  in  the  ability  to 
derive  from  the  practical  examples  of  actual  warfare  principles  suited  to 
universal  application.  The  present  volume  has  a  really  enormous  scope,  for 
it  covers  a  hundred  years  of  some  of  the  hardest  and  most  brilliant  fighting 
that  the  world  has  ever  seen ;  but  amid  all  the  complexities  of  a  rapid  suc- 
cession of  divergent  campaigns,  the  author  keeps  a  clear  head,  holds  fast  to 
the  main  lines  of  action,  and  succeeds  in  demonstrating  how,  amid  condi- 
tions so  bewildering  and  tumultuous,  there  was  developed,  through  force  of 
genius  and  play  of  circumstances,  a  decisive  and  epoch-making  progress  in 
the  art  of  war.  —  Boston  Beacon. 

The  career  of  Gustavus  is  extremely  interesting ;  but  Colonel  Dodge  is 
not  so  much  a  biographer  or  historian,  in  the  usual  sense,  as  he  is  an  ardent 
student  and  teacher  of  the  art  of  war,  —  "  the  greatest  of  all  arts,"  he  calls 
it.  To  make  such  a  work  interesting  to  others  than  soldiers  is  a  difficult 
matter ;   but  Colonel  Dodge  has  succeeded.  —  The  Independent,  July  2,  18U(). 

The  present  volume  covers  a  large  field  of  investigation,  and  this  investi- 
gation has  not  been  limited  to  the  written  records,  for,  as  the  author  tells 
us,  he  has  uniformly  got  his  best  suggestions  from  a  visit  to  the  famous  bat- 
tlefields whose  history  he  records.  .  .  .  We  have  already  exhausted  ourselves 
in  the  commendation  of  Colonel  Dodge's  excellent  series  of  historical  studies. 
They  are  indispensable  to  a  well-equipped  military  library.  ...  It  is,  in 
fact,  a  treatise  on  the  art  of  war,  illustrated  by  some  of  the  most  brilliant 
examples  of  its  application  to  modern  times.  —  Army  and  Navy  Journal, 
March  28,  1896. 


RIDERS  OF  MANY    LANDS. 

Profusely  illustrated  by  Remington,  and  from  photographs  of  Oriental 
subjects.     8vo,  pp.  486,  $4.00. 

By  THEODORE  AYRAULT  DODGE, 

Brevet  Lieutenant- Colonel  United  States  Army. 


A  book  that  will  gladden  the  heart  of  every  lover  of  horses.  —  Boston 
Herald. 

A  volume  of  rare  and  exceptional  interest,  full  of  information,  modestly 
and  diffidently  conveyed,  written  by  a  man  who  is  not  only  a  past  master 
of  liis  subject,  but  who  shows  in  every  line  that  he  is  possessed  of  that  fine 
feeling  —  that  sacred  fire  —  which  alone  can  create  jierf eet  sympathy  be- 
tween a  high-bred  gentleman  and  his  equine  counterpart.  —  N.  Y.  Tribune. 

The  reader  who  has  a  grain  of  humor  in  him  no  bigger  than  a  pinch  of 
snuff  will  find  endless  entertainment  in  it.  —  N.  Y.  Evening  Post. 

His  style  is  picturesque  and  bi-eezy;  he  has  opinions  and  he  does  not 
hesitate  to  exjjress  them.  —  Boston  Advertiser. 

Every  style  of  riding  which  deserves  to  be  called  a  style  is  sympathet- 
ically estimated.  —  Boston  Traveler. 

It  is  intensely  readable,  and  it  contains  a  variety  of  information  with 
regard  to  horsemanship  and  the  horse  which  could  not  possibly  be  found 
elsewhere.  —  Boston  Beacon. 

Colonel  Dodge  is  more  than  an  enthusiastic  lover  of  dogs  and  horses  ;  he 
is  a  most  genial  and  clever  writer.  —  Portland  Press. 

It  is  fortunate  that  so  fair-minded  and  cosmopolitan  a  critic  of  equitation 
has  arisen  as  Colonel  Dodge.  —  Springfield  Bepublican. 

To  an  unlimited  knowledge  of  the  horse  and  the  art  of  horsemanship  the 
author  adds  vast  experience  as  a  traveler.  — New  Haven  Register. 

What  Colonel  Dodge  does  not  know  about  horses  and  how  to  ride  them 
could  be  put  in  very  few  words.  —  Providence  Journal. 

It  is  one  of  those  delightful  books  in  a  conventional  world  which  comes 
upon  us  not  once  in  a  decade.  —  N.  Y.  Nation. 

It  is  a  book  which  all  who  love  horses  or  the  fields  and  the  open  air  will 
take  up  with  delight.  —  N.  Y.  Indeiiendent. 

The  writer  passes  in  re\'iew  the  riders,  horses,  and  the  methods  and  equip- 
ments of  about  every  people  under  the  sun,  chatting  with  the  charm  of  an 
accomplished  raconteur. —  Commercial  Advertiser. 

Riders  are  discussed  with  the  science  of  one  who  knows  everything  about 
a  horse  that  is  worth  knowing.  —  Philadelphia  Item. 

Colonel  Dodge  has  studied  riders  from  the  saddle,  and  has  observed 
things,  women,  customs,  and  costumes.  —  Detroit  Free  Press. 

Colonel  Dodge's  claim  to  know  something  about  horses  is  amply  and 
pleasantly  maintained  in  nearly  fourscore  delightfully  written  chapters.  — 
Neiv  Orleans  Times-Democrat. 

Readers  will  insist  on  finding  out  for  themselves  the  good  things  in  this 
excellent  work.  —  Boston  Herald. 

A  charming  volume  it  is  with  its  lively  text,  full  of  interest  and  anecdote. 
—  Army  and  Navy  Journal. 

Colonel  Dodge's  latest  work  is  of  distinct  military  value.  —  Journal  Mil- 
itary Service  Inst. 


A  series  of  charmingly  written  chapters,  in  a  breezy,  unconventional  style. 

—  Boston  Transcript. 

A  delightful  feature  of  Colonel  Dodge's  hook  is  its  sympathetic  tone.  — 
Boston  Courier. 

A  book  every  one  interested  in  equitation  will  desire  to  possess.  —  Boston 
Gazette. 

His  observations  on  horses  and  men  in  many  lands  are  sensible,  intelligent, 
and  bright.  —  Portland  Argus. 

He  writes  with  an  energy  that  carries  his  readers  with  him.  —  N.  Y.  Mail 
and  Express. 

Marked  in  every  paragraph  with  the  knowledge  of  the  specialist.  —  Out- 
look. 

A  book  that  Avill  gladden  the  heart  of  every  lover  of  horses.  —  Brooklyn 
Times. 

Colonel  Dodge  is  an  adept  whose  knowledge  of  horseflesh  is  both  wide 
and  deep.  —  Philadelphia  North  American. 

It  will  appeal  strongly  and  favorably  to  every  lover  of  a  manly  spirit.  — 
Ph  ila  delph  ia  Press. 

Opinions  that  are  heartily  outspoken ;  a  breezy,  broad-chested  way  of 
saying  things.  —  Philadelphia  Record. 

A  charm  of  sprightliness  which  holds  the  reader's  attention  throughout. 

—  Philadelphia  Bulletin. 

Every  horse  lover  will  delight  in  Colonel  Dodge's  intelligent  and  sympa- 
thetic demonstration  of  his  subject.  — Philadelphia  Telegraph. 

If  ever  a  man  was  qualified  to  write  of  horses  and  riders  it  is  Colonel 
Dodge.  — Washington  Star. 

Nothing  bearing  on  the  equestrianism  of  the  various  peoples  has  escaped 
his  notice.  —  Rochester  Herald. 

What  the  colonel  does  not  know  about  the  horse  and  his  gaits  is  not 
worth  knowing.  —  Buffalo  Commercial. 

The  discourse  is  easy  aud  free  from  cant  or  technicality.  —  Christian 
Advocate. 

Vivid  glances  of  life  Avith  opinions  that  are  heartily  outspoken.  —  Louis- 
ville Courier-Journal. 

The  most  magnificent  tribute  ever  paid  to  the  combined  horse.  —  Gen. 
Castleman,  President  Society  of  Saddle-Horse  Breeders. 

Combines  to  an  unusual  degree  interest,  use,  and  beauty.  —  Chicago  Times. 

Sound  horse  lore  is  dispensed  all  through  the  book.  —  Boston  Common- 
wealth. 

He  writes  of  a  subject  of  which  he  is  easily  master. —  Boston  Commercial 
Bulletin. 

Marked  by  the  enthixsiasm  of  a  genuine  horseman.  —  Boston  Journal. 

Will  delight  those  who  love  a  good  anecdote  or  a  good  horse.  —  Zion's 
Herald. 

Contains  a  vast  amount  of  curious  information.  —  Portland  Advertiser. 
Both  instructive  and  extremely  entertaining.  —  Hartford  Courant. 

The  collection  is  one  of  rare  value  and  most  entertaining  qualitj'.  —  Book 
Buyer. 

An  exceptionally  attractive  book.  —  N.  Y.  Critic. 

A  delightful  and  most  instructive  book.  —  N.  Y.  Press. 
_  Bright,  chatty,  sparkling,  and  abounding  in  sage  observations.  —  ChriS' 
tian  Intelligencer. 

A  volume  of  surpassing  interest.  —  N.  Y.  Rider  and  Driver. 


Colonel  Dodge  writes  ex  cathedra.  —  Episcopal  Recorder. 

Colonel  Dodge  is  a  judge  of  horseflesh.  A  breezy  and  outspoken  book. — 
Philadeljjhia  Ledger. 

Lots  of  entertainment.  —  Philadelphia  Times. 

A  breezy,  off-hand  way  quite  refreshing.  —  Presbyterian. 

Colonel  Dodge  lias  studied  the  horse  and  horseman  everywhere.  —  Albany 
Journal. 

One  of  the  choicest  holiday  books  of  the  year.  —  Buffalo  Courier. 

Full  of  interest.  —  Toledo  Blade. 

Colonel  Dodge's  style  is  easy  and  vivid.  —  Cincinnati  Commercial  Gazette. 

Colonel  Dodge  is  thoroughly  qualified  to  speak  from  experience.  —  Cleve- 
land Plain  Dealer. 

One  of  the  most  entertaining  books  of  the  day.  —  Louisville  Post. 

Abounding  in  anecdote  and  comment.  —  Chicago  Journal. 

Will  not  only  entertain  but  instruct  equestrians.  —  Inter-Ocean. 

Colonel  Dodge  is  master  of  his  theme.  ■ —  Dial. 

A  feast  of  reason  and  a  flow  of  soul.  —  Chicago  Interior. 

His  style  is  animated,  liis  pen  graphic,  and  his  knowledge  of  the  subject 
infinite.  —  Chicago  Saturday  Evening  Hercdd. 

From  Russia  to  Africa,  from  Japan  to  Westchester  County.  —  Neiv  Or- 
leans Picayune. 

An  authority  which  it  is  safe  to  follow.  —  San  Francisco  Bidletin. 

An  expert  judge  of  horseflesh.  —  Sa7i  Francisco  Post. 

lieaves  no  part  of  the  world  untouched.  —  San  Francisco  News  Dealer. 

Colonel  Dodge  clearlj-  speaks  as  one  having  authority  on  horses,  saddles, 
months,  and  manners.  —  Breeders''  Gazette. 

ENGLISH  NOTICES. 

Colonel  Dodge  writes  with  wide  knowledge,  keen  sympathy,  and  trained 
judgment.  —  London  Times. 

One  of  the  best  books  on  horses  and  their  riders  with  which  we  have  met. 
—  London  Athenceum. 

Colonel  Dodge  is  an  exceedingly  agreeable  companion.  —  London  Satur- 
day Review. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  no  living  man  is  a  more  profound  authority.  — 
Sporting  and  Dramatic  News. 

The  book  displays  a  knowledge  of  the  ever-fascinating  subject  which  is 
nothing  less  than  bewildering.  —  London  Sketch. 

Very  well  done.  —  London  Woi-ld. 


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